Mellow
by Andrina
Summary: Years ago, when Tendou Kimiko passed away, the Tendou household fell apart. Years in the future, with Tendou Soun dead, how long will it take this time for them to heal? Add one reappearance of Saotome Ranma, and Akane is just about to fall apart herself.
1. Prologue

_Standard disclaimer applies to each and every chapter of this story._

A first attempt at Ranma multi-chapter fanfiction. (: Comments and criticism greatly appreciated! Flames will be used to roast my chicken wings, thankyouverymuch. :P

**-**

**Mellow**

**By Andrina**

**Prologue**

The autumn chill was bitingly cold as it swept through the town. From time to time, one or two of the few lonely leaves still clinging on stubbornly to the trees would flutter down feebly, landing softly on the pavement. Those who were brave enough to leave the warm shelter of their homes did so unwillingly, scurrying about hurriedly and wrapped snugly in thick woolen clothing.

From up the street, a cab pulled to a stop at the pavement, not too far from the place where Doctor Tofu Ono used to work as a private practitioner. The young lady inside the cab smiled briefly as she handed over the exact cab fare, giving her thanks softly. Stepping out of the cab, the woman carefully tucked a strand of short hair behind her ears, before retrieving her suitcase from the trunk of the car.

As the cab pulled away and vanished down the street in a cloud of exhaust fumes, the woman coughed, shielding her nose and mouth with a small hand. Shaking her head slightly, she began to walk, carrying the large suitcase with surprising ease. As she walked, a small smile bloomed on her young unblemished face, and before she knew it, she had began humming softly to herself.

Oh, it felt nice to be back in Nerima.

Before long, she had stopped at the entrance of a Doujou. Surely, she thought, the place had seen better days? The walls were slightly yellowed now, and the place bore a look of shabbiness. Still... wouldn't they all be glad that she was back to spend all of December with them? She, for one, was definitely glad. There was something undeniably heartwarming about being back in the place where she had spent many of her childhood years. Perhaps, the woman thought hopefully, perhaps she would be able to pay Furinkan High School a visit sometime during her stay? She laughed quietly.

She rang the doorbell, still smiling. They would have a nice surprise.

Minutes passed. The woman's smile faded a little. Where was everyone?

She was about to ring the doorbell once more when abruptly, the doors swung open. The young woman smiled warmly then. "Oh, Kasumi," she greeted happily. "I..."

Something was wrong.

Her voice died off at the sight of dear beautiful Kasumi, usually neat and radiant, gripping the doorknob with an unnatural force. Her hair, always remembered as being gloriously luxurious and silky, was a tangled mess pulled into a messy ponytail. Her clothes, always neat and clean, now looked in dire need to adjustment and change. And her face, her dear beautiful sweet face was frighteningly pale, heightened by the lost confused eyes as Kasumi looked on blankly. After a few seconds, Kasumi spoke, her voice dry and hoarse from lack of use.

"Oh, Akane..." The older woman whispered vacantly, waving her hand impassively. "How nice. I was just about to call you to tell you that Father died last night."

Without warning, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell forward onto Akane in a boneless heap.

**-**

You know you should click that little button down there...


	2. In One Day

Mellow

**Chapter 1**

She found herself staring down at an unconscious Kasumi tucked in safely in the large fluffy bed Akane knew she shared with Dr. Tofu. She had checked her sister for a pulse, and within minutes was certain that the older woman was very much alive. _Just tired,_ a confident voice spoke up inside her. _Tired and shocked. _Not to be blamed, Akane thought unwaveringly. Certainly it wasn't an everyday occurrence that one awoke to find one's father cold and stiff in his bed, was it?

She padded down the stairs quietly, intending to bring her sister some smelling salts and perhaps some food and drink. Judging by the state of the kitchen, her sister had not started on breakfast yet. Akane frowned. While her present culinary skills were nothing to boast about, at least she could be sure that she wouldn't burn the house down while trying to boil a kettle of water for making tea or something like that.

Well, before that... The dark-haired woman paused as she passed by the telephone. Pondering calmly, she took a step towards it. Checking the number against the list of numbers stuck firmly on the wall above the telephone, she ran her finger down the list and paused on a particular number. Nodding slightly, she hadn't noticed she had begun to hum a soft tune as she dialed the number briskly and waited for it to ring.

One ring. Two rings. Three rings. Four ri—

"Hello, Tendou Nabiki speaking." The voice was smooth and controlled to the untrained ear, but Akane could easily pick out the underlying tone of annoyance in the woman's even voice. She smirked. Evidently she had interrupted one of Nabiki's business meetings and Nabiki, as she had expected, was fastidious when it came to matters involving money and business.

"Nabs. This is Akane." She paused; somewhat surprised that she could sound so calm and relaxed. Cheerful, even.

"I just got to the Doujou. I was thinking of spending Christmas here." Nabiki made a non-committal sound and Akane continued firmly. "Unfortunately, Kasumi's out cold, and it seems that Daddy's dead." Her voice shook suddenly, and her grip on the phone tightened just slightly, but her composure was remarkably intact as she awaited Nabiki's reply.

There was a lengthy, heavy pause on the other end of the line.

"I'll get back to you on that," was Nabiki's curt reply before there was a click and the line went dead.

Akane replaced the phone. Expected. Anytime within the next 24 hours Nabiki would be back home.

She made her way into the kitchen, taking care to grab a few wet towels at the same time before she walked up the stairs. Her footsteps were unnaturally heavy, and if it wasn't her imagination, she could hear them reverberating in the house, louder than she could ever envisage.

It wasn't until Akane walked past her father's room that she stopped and gently pushed the door open, peering in carefully. She took in the sight of her father lying silently on the bed. His once-black hair was streaked with gray and white, and he almost looked like he was asleep.

He's not dead; a tiny disbelieving voice spoke up inside her. He's just asleep. Kasumi's stressed. She must have been mistaken. How can _Daddy_ be dead? That's absurd. That's ridiculous. He was perfectly healthy. _Is_, she corrected herself mentally. He hasn't died yet. As if wanting to prove this, the youngest Tendou daughter stepped forward quietly, raising one pale hand to brush her father's forehead lightly.

It was cold. Too cold. And that instant, she knew it was true. Tendou Soun had passed on and was no longer around.

She felt a sense of déjà vu as she compared it to the disbelief she had felt all those years ago, when her mother had abruptly died. _It's not true!_ Her mind had insisted firmly. _No way! _

But it was true. Without thinking, she lifted the pale sheet covering her father's body and lightly covered her father with it, then choosing to step out of the room inaudibly.

Yet the moment she shut the door gently behind her with a sound click, something tore inside her. Leaning her forehead against the wall, Tendou Akane began to cry.

-

On the other side of Japan, Nabiki smiled civilly at her client. "I beg your pardon, Mr. Nakamura, but it seems our meeting has to be rescheduled. It seems that a matter of utmost importance requires my attention at once." Her cold eyes seem to gain a steely glint as she rose, staring down at the pudgy man currently cowering in the seat opposite her. "Not to worry, of course," she breathed politely, leaning forward. "Pleasantries aside, I will be kind for once and keep interest rates steady _for the time being_." She laughed, and the man shivered, all his pudgy rolls of fat quivering with him.

"You will arrange the details of our next meeting with my secretary, I trust?" Without waiting for a reply, she picked up her briefcase and strode away, blatantly choosing to ignore the man who hastily scrambled to his feet to bid her a hurried goodbye.

Fools they all were. Nabiki narrowed her eyes. Well, all the better for business.

She pulled the sleek black cell phone out of her pocket and dialed a number rapidly. Ignoring the curses flung at her the moment the call got through, she allowed a humorless smile as she slid into the plush leather seat of her equally sleek navy convertible.

"Good morning to you too," the young woman spoke dryly. "Remember the favor you owed me?"

The curses died down. Nabiki smiled, her hand coming to grip the steering wheel tightly. "Good," she said finally. "I need it now. Go down to Nerima, Tendou Doujou. My..." _Daddy died._ "My father died."

The voice on the other end turned quiet, and somewhat sympathetic. Nabiki shot a cold sharp glare at her steering wheel. "I don't need your blasted pity!" she snapped frostily, effectively cutting the speaker off. "I need someone responsible to keep things under control! My older sister's out cold, and the younger one could be in hysterics for all I know!"

I see, said the person on the other line.

"So are you going or not?" she forced out, massaging her temples. This was not a good day.

I'll be there, said the person, with a tone of finality.

"Good." Nabiki nodded and ended the call. Tossing her phone into the passenger seat, she started the engine and drove out of the car park.

_Now, about that plane ticket..._

-

Akane was cold.

She had spent the past two hours staring vacantly out the window and down at the koi pond. The wind was blowing right in her face, but she didn't seem to notice. Or care.

_The pond was where Daddy released the fish caught at the carnival when I was seven._

She raised a hand to tuck her hair firmly behind her ears. Downstairs she heard the faint humming of a vacuum machine as Kasumi worked diligently to clean up the house. The young woman frowned. Even in her weakest moments, Kasumi had turned to housework for a sense of familiarity and comfort. She looked at the clock. Nearly six-thirty now. Any moment now, Kasumi would come up the stairs to announce that dinner was ready and that she had prepared a bath for her.

There was a soft knock on the door. "Akane? Dinner is ready. Ono will be home soon. You must be tired, so I prepared a hot bath for you," Kasumi called through the door.

"Coming, onee-chan," she replied, wondering how Kasumi could be so cheerful.

But she wasn't cheerful. This Akane knew. She was a nervous wreck falling apart at the seams, seeking comfort in a façade she held regularly. She had seen Kasumi this morning, pale and frightened. Not soon after her sister had been revived, it had taken a mere matter of seconds before she attacked her household chores with an intensity that scared even Akane.

Kasumi was scared. Kasumi was scared and grieving.

Years ago, when Mama died, Akane recollected, Kasumi gave up her entire childhood to be a mother, a caregiver. She sought joy and a sense of accomplishment in taking care of everyone in the family. But now, now that Daddy's dead, Nabiki and her were all grown up already.

_Who was left for her to take care of?_

She always thought Dr. Tofu and Kasumi was a match made in heaven. Both were wonderfully kind, had a knack for healing and comforting people, and more observant than they ever let on. Dr. Tofu saw things that she would have never dreamt of, and Kasumi carefully observed everyone in the household and silently took them under care to mend and heal them in any way she could.

But now she feared this ability of Kasumi's, for in order for her to be so observant and not let on what she knew, she had always sought shelter in the caricature of a the loving maternal, if not somewhat vacuous, oldest sister, and right now, she doubted this was giving the release Kasumi so needed.

At least, she, Akane, could cry and sob helplessly for all she wanted and no one would mind.

_Oh, Kasumi onee-chan..._

She really, really missed her father. Not just the strong man whom her mother had fallen in love with, and who had died with the death of her mother, but also the comical, if not somewhat cowardly, man who tried so hard to make her happy but always did it the wrong way.

Like not wanting her to continue with her martial arts training.

Like engaging her to him.

Like wanting her to go through the marriage.

She told herself cry, she promised herself not to cry over someone as insignificant as him. And she had stopped crying over him too. That was over six years ago since he had left Nerima without even looking back and she had too left, a young heartbroken girl searching desperately for something that she had no name for.

But she _had_ missed him, and very much so.

_Ranma._

The name rose unbidden in her mind and for the second time that day she felt her eyes tear up. This time she swiped the wetness away angrily. Geez, what on earth was wrong with her? Must be the stress... crying so much in one day.

Why did you have to be such a jerk, Ranma? Why did you have to go?

Why did you have to be such an idiot, Daddy? Why did you have to die?

Why did you have to be such a weakling, Akane? Why are you crying?

She shut the windows then and stepped out the room to make her way to the hot bath Kasumi had prepared for her.

She called the undertakers right after Kasumi had woken, asking them to take her father's body away for preparation for the funeral. She had listed Nabiki's particulars, knowing her sister would take care of the financial matters. She always did. And she had asked the undertakers to give her father the best, and perhaps, taking pity on her quiet trembling voice and pale face, they had agreed.

She felt so lonely and vulnerable right after they left with her father's body.

But perhaps the biggest shock came right after she left the hot bath, her wet hair wrapped up in the pale yellow towels she had always favored. Walking down the stairs, she had been just in time to see her brother-in-law return home, who had then greeted her in surprise. On the other hand, Kasumi took one step out of the kitchen and promptly made a beeline for her husband, all but throwing herself at him.

"Kasumi...?" Ono had asked, surprised. "Did something happen?"

And that was when Akane realized that Kasumi hadn't told Tofu about Soun's death, which explained why he hadn't rushed home immediately from work the moment he was supposed to hear about the news. Yet Kasumi didn't speak, merely turning her face into Tofu's shoulder, as she seemed to shrink in size, until merely becoming a small frail child.

Akane turned away, making her way up the stairs as she gave them the privacy they deserved.

When she came down again after fifteen minutes, everything seemed normal. Kasumi was happily laying out the dishes and Tofu was reading the papers. Yet... Akane hesitated. "Tofu-sensei?"

She had never really broken that habit of calling him that.

The doctor smiled kindly at her. "Yes, Akane-chan?" he answered.

"Do... do you know that Daddy died?"

There was a loud crash as Kasumi dropped a plate. Porcelain lay strewed everywhere and Akane cursed mentally. "Oh my," was all her sister said, in that quiet mild voice that she was so used to hearing. She dropped to her knees and began to gather up the porcelain pieces.

Akane's eyes narrowed. Was it just her, or did Kasumi's voice quiver slightly?

"What?" Tofu exclaimed.

Akane sighed as she dropped by Kasumi's side and gently lifted her sister up. "It's okay, Kasumi onee-chan, I'll clear it up for you," she mumbled soothingly, even as she noted how Kasumi _was _literallyshaking. She was also unnaturally warm to the touch. Akane frowned.

"Tofu-sensei? I think Kasumi's burning up." She watched as her brother-in-law started and worriedly got to his feet. "I think you might want to check on her. If you need to know," her voice broke off and she swallowed before she could continue. "Daddy's at the undertakers."

She watched, this time clenching her fists tightly on her skirt as Tofu carefully slipped an arm around Kasumi and led her up the stairs. And this time, she could really feel her eyes burning.

Kasumi was normally so _strong_. Not the Nabiki-strong-as-metal-and-cold-as-ice type of strong, but more of a silent resilience. And here she was, a near wreck. And Nabiki was... as far as she knew, Nabiki could still be stuck on the other side of Japan. Plane tickets couldn't be bought so quickly.

As Akane began to methodically sweep up the broken plate, she couldn't help but _want_ to just curl up and sleep. She felt so... tired.

_The last time when Mama died, it took us years to heal. _

_How long will it take this time?_

The doorbell rang. Akane glanced up. Who on earth could it be? Surely Nabiki couldn't be here, in Nerima, already? Straightening, she made her way to the front door, dropping the remains of the plate into the dustbin as she walked past.

"Hi, can I help..."

Akane's voice died right in her throat. This wasn't happening, this _couldn't_ be happening...

"Yo," Saotome Ranma said simply, his hands stuck firmly in his pockets.

She made no reply, merely staring at him dumbly.

Ranma quirked an eyebrow. "So, you gonna let me in?" Not really waiting for a reply, he brushed past the shocked woman breezily, making his way to the living room. "Mm, something smells good," the young man called out. "Kasumi's cooking?"

There was no reply from Akane, who slowly shut the door and turned around to face Ranma.

Suddenly, the sight of Ranma just _standing_ there in the living room, all calm and relaxed and looking around irked her. Irked her very badly.

"Ranma..." she could barely recognize her own voice as one so dark and angered. Apparently Ranma seemed shocked too, because he turned to face her, face blank.

Oh gods, how she'd missed him, a little voice spoke up painfully, but Akane squashed that voice ruthlessly.

"Ranma..." She tried breathing, tried counting to ten, but nothing would calm her. This was too much in a day, too much for her to handle... "What the hell are you doing here?" she forced out, voice rising dangerously with every syllable. By the end of the sentence she was yelling angrily.

He, on the other hand, seemed unperturbed. "Checking up on you guys," he replied finally.

Wrong thing to say. Akane erupted.

"After six long years of no contact, you think you can just waltz in and 'check up' on us? Well, too bad for you, Saotome, we don't need you to! So get out! Get out of my house!" she cried out furiously, eyes blazing. She was in no mood to deal with him, no mood to deal with _anything_ in fact. All she wanted was to go to bed and sleep...

Ranma didn't flinch, even though his stare on Akane intensified. "I can't," he said shortly. "I'm under orders to keep things under control here."

"What?!" Akane yelled, temper rising higher than ever. "Which stupid idiot told you to do that?"

Ranma gave a humorless grin. "You'll find out soon enough."

And that was when she decided she had enough. "I don't care, Saotome! Get the hell out of my house! I... I never want to see you again! I thought we made this clear six years ago!" Grabbing the nearest thing she could, which happened to be the television remote control, she flung it heatedly at him, as though by the sheer will he would magically disappear and leave her alone. Yet all Ranma did was dodge the blasted thing easily.

"No."

Her anger was boiling, rising, turning everything else into a haze, until it reached a limit where she thought she would erupt from the pressure, but just as she opened her mouth to scream at him, the anger abruptly died down, leaving her colder, more vulnerable and more deflated than she had ever felt. He watched as her shoulders tensed, and then unexpectedly droop.

"I've had it, Ranma." Her voice was dreadfully soft and tired, and instead of calming him, he felt himself tense. "I'm tired. I don't care what you do anymore. Stay if you want, but if you hurt anyone in my family, I will give you hell. Kasumi's a nervous wreck and Tofu-sensei doesn't know anything. Me? I don't _need_ this." She lifted her head to look searchingly at him and this time Ranma did flinch inwardly at the look in her eyes. The anger, the hurt, the... turmoil?

"Oh fuck off, Saotome," Akane whispered frigidly, before turning to walk up the stairs.

"Akane," he spoke and before she could blink he had grabbed her wrist and held her back. "Akane, come on... don't be like this."

He was so close... Akane looked on blankly, before her eyes softened. Damn him, he always did have that effect on her. "Too bad, Ranma," she murmured quietly. "Should have thought about that before you left, eh?" Without waiting for a reply, the dark-haired woman pried his grip off her wrist and walked up the stairs.

Once she reached her room, Akane shut the door and bolted it tightly. Struggling with her tangled feelings, she slid to the ground and began to sob. This time, she couldn't stop.

-

Ranma dialed Nabiki's number on his cell phone. After a few times, she picked up, sounding rather tired.

"Yo, Nabiki."

"What?'

"I'm at your house now." Ranma adjusted the phone and leant against the wall.

"Peachy," the woman muttered. "So what's going on?"

"From what I hear, Kasumi's a nervous wreck and Akane's severely stressed." He looked out towards the koi pond and noted the grass had grown longer.

Nabiki sighed. "Expected. I supposed Akane's not too happy?"

"Happy?" Ranma snorted, looking up at Akane's bedroom window. "She's downright pissed and told me to fuck off."

There was a slight pause, before Nabiki's voice became slightly kinder. "Don't take it too hard, Saotome. She's just stressed. If I'm right, Kasumi told her that Daddy's dead and probably fainted on her."

"Ouch." Ranma's eyes widened. "Not that I care about what she says anyway..."

Nabiki chuckled. "Anything you say. Keep a close eye on them. If you hurt anyone in my family, I will give you hell, understand?"

He snorted. "You and Akane say the same things."

"Whatever. Runs in the family, maybe." he heard her say. "She missed you by the way."

Now it was his turn. "Whatever," he scoffed, even though something leapt up inside him. "She's still the angry misunderstanding tomboy she was."

Nabiki's tone was both light and warning when she answered. "If you think so. Akane's grown, I might add. Everyone has."

"Mm." He made a non-committal noise and ended the call.

-

Cookies for reviewers! (: Comments and criticism, I stress, are always greatly appreciated!


	3. Instant Grief

A/N: o.O Okay. My first attempt at writing something remotely serious for Ranma ½ and I have to say, the reviews are 'stronger'. Or maybe that's just me. In any case, though they were 'stricter', they were definitely more constructive, so thanks! I'll try my best to improve. Though, honestly, I am really surprised that some people actually like the story!

I understand for some of the earlier people who read the fic the formatting screwed up and went Really Weird. No idea how _that _happened, but it should be okay now, I think...

And if you think Ranma's callous... then good! breaks into wheezing evil laughter Err. Right. Seriously, all will elaborated upon. So relax.

Now I add. **This is going to be a Ranma x Akane story. **There will be quite a bit of development, but ultimately it _is_ going to end up as an RA pairing. Sorry, but I proudly admit to be a fan of this pairing. If you're not comfortable with it, then you'd better stop reading, okay? Or at least don't start scolding me or anything. I _did_ warn you, hmm?

Lastly, _Ghost in the Machine_ pointed out that Tofu is Dr. Tofu's personal name, and not his family name. stares quizzically at webpages which list his first name as Ono Either my resources are mixed up, or I'm just puzzled. Will someone kindly enlighten me? In any case I'll just use Tofu for the time being.

_A big thankyou goes out to dennisud2015, Tenkuu, Lorilynn1, ManaChan, CleverWitch, pieeee, Tornado (Reviewer, Silent Tears of Agony, Old Fool, Ghost in the Machine, kakashi-fan, otakufanatic, RobinofYJ, Jade30, Califpinay3001, soda-cola-pay, Rio Grande, Nw! _

**Mellow**

**Chapter 2**

The night was cold. Ranma padded out onto the patio and blew out his breath, choosing to stare grimly out at nothing in particular. Night had long settled, along with a still silence that he wasn't sure could be associated with Nerima. Still, in any case, he didn't think he could deal sensibly to anything hectic that Nerima could throw at him right now.

Ranma let his eyes slide shut.

He didn't know what he had been expecting. Certainly not a red carpet welcome. But perhaps... a little more civility?

"Hello Ranma. It's been a long time since we last met."

"Hey, Doc."

He opened his eyes, aware of the good doctor the moment he had walked down the stairs. He waited as the older man walked calmly to his side and stopped, a sizable distance between them. Tofu adjusted his glasses and carefully folded his arms.

"How's Kasumi?" Ranma offered, as though that was the least he could do.

Tofu's eyes seemed to take on a benign glint. "She's a bit shocked, but it's nothing that a bit of rest and calming down can't cure."

Ranma nodded, satisfied that the older woman was fine. He closed his eyes once more, not really willing to talk at the moment. Unfortunately for him, it seemed that Tofu wasn't feeling the same way as he did, for he spoke then, his voice calm and kind, but very much firm.

"I heard you and Akane talking just now." It wasn't probing, nor reproaching, but it certainly helped to dig up the strangest memories. Ranma was sorely tempted to wave his arm in a show of nonchalance, but for some reason his arm wouldn't really wave very well today... Or come out from his pockets in any case...

"Yeah, well," he replied, somewhat grim. "No worries for her. Once Nabiki turns up, I'll be free to go."

Tofu looked mildly surprised. Removing his glasses, he began to clean them slowly. "You're waiting for Nabiki? What for, Ranma? To see her?"

He nearly didn't catch onto the hidden meanings behind Tofu's words but began to splutter the moment he realized why Tofu seemed so shocked. "Not that way. I owe her a favor, and she's making me return it to her by keeping peace here," he explained steely, hoping to clear up any misconceptions or wonky ideas that might just be floating around in the good doctor's head...

Tofu chuckled. 'Wonder what she was thinking then, sending Ranma over when Akane's around?' he thought to himself. "We will be fine, Ranma," he spoke reassuringly. No more was said, and abruptly the conversation lapsed into a flimsy silence.

"Hey, Doc?"

"Yes, Ranma?"

He was quiet for a while, before he spoke up, voice strangely subdued. "Mr. Tendou's death hit them hard, didn't it?" It was a stupid question really, since _obviously_ it would hit them hard. He was, after all, their father, for Pete's sake! And even though, spiritually, the real Tendou Soun ceased to exist after his wife had passed on, he _knew_ the sisters had always continued to love and protect him in any way they could, before deep down, they had always believed there was a spark of _something_ that remained, and continued to love them like they did him.

Tofu took a long time before he spoke. "I'm quite sure it did, Ranma," he answered quietly, and suddenly Ranma had no way of knowing the man speaking to him was the young Tofu he knew. For all he knew, Tofu sounded like much older and wearier than he could ever believe, like an man who'd seen too much, too much in his life...

"Grief manifests itself in the queerest forms, Ranma," he continued, and his voice dropped to a soft murmur, almost as though he were talking to himself than to the younger man. "Kasumi didn't cry, as far as I know. Akane didn't cry, at least not to my face. She didn't even sound depressed. And Nabiki, I'm sure, isn't crying at the moment.

"But Kasumi grieves." He pointed vaguely at the vacuum machine and various housecleaning products left in a corner of the room. "Evidently she has been doing housework all day. It's a strange way of grieving, isn't it, Ranma?" He didn't wait for Ranma to reply, merely continuing. "But it's the only way she can calm herself. Taking care of the house is something she's done for years. It's something familiar.

"Akane grieves too. Kasumi tells me that Akane took care of everything, at least until Kasumi could get up again. How she revived Kasumi, informed Nabiki, called the undertakers and attempted to cook lunch." Tofu chuckled. "That didn't go too well, hmm? Grief brings out the strangest things in people, and apparently, Akane's decided to grow up.

"And Nabiki..." His eyes held a poignant smile. "It's no wonder she asked you to maintain some peace around here, isn't it, Ranma? She may seem cold, but even, as a child Nabiki has been fiercely protective of her family. And now..." He smiled then, albeit sadly. "Now her sisters are the only ones she has left."

There was silence.

"Why do you tell me this, Doc?" Ranma's voice was subdued.

Tofu smiled serenely. "Just so you know, Ranma. Keep that in mind, won't you?" he chuckled and turned around to enter the house once more. Walking towards the stairs, Tofu stopped, his hand resting lightly on the banister. "Come inside, Ranma. The night is cold."

It was a long time before the pig-tailed man followed.

-

It was past midnight. Akane was not asleep.

Actually she had been asleep, a result of crying too much, she guessed. But sometime after the clock struck twelve, her stomach had been instantly awake, and cheerily grumbled at her to get up. Akane, rudely awoken by the grumbling of her stomach, had no choice but to comply, and showed her displeasure by grumbling back at it equally loudly.

"Shut up. I'm up. I'll get some food..." Mentally she sighed. One of these days, someone was going to see her talking to herself and call up the mental hospital. Then when they came to pick her up and she'd say, "I'm from Nerima!" and they'd nod in understanding and go, "Ah... So that explains it."

She shook her head. The joys of talking to oneself in the dead of the night.

She passed by Kasumi's room and listened in. Hearing nothing, she relaxed and walked on.

She passed by her father's room and did not stop. But she would admit she shook then, as she walked past, and an urge to pull open the door to check that her father would be sound asleep on his bed, like what everyone would expect, welled up inside her.

Of course, the room was empty.

She swore her hands trembled.

Soun was dead. Soun was gone. And so was the little bit of Akane inside her that had always claimed herself as 'Daddy's little girl'.

And in that dark hallway, in the middle of the night, Akane suddenly realized it was time to grow up. A trivial, bizarre thought, really. Of course she was grown up. She was a twenty-six years old woman, for goodness sake!

She had long learned to grow up and take responsibility six years ago, when she left Nerima.

But... there was always something inside her that sought the safety of home, of her family, of Daddy, of her dear big sisters who would all rally around her and take care of her should the slightest thing ever happen. Her Daddy who loved her, and wanted what he thought was the best for her, even though he didn't do it very well. Her beautiful sister Kasumi, who held her when she cried, loved her when she was lost, took care of her when she was young and ignorant, and healed her when she hurt. And even Nabiki. Nabiki who loved her in her own little aloof ways, who always made sure she had enough to spend, enough to eat, enough to enjoy. Who quietly, if not secretly, made sure she was safe.

But today. Today Daddy was dead, Kasumi was a nervous wreck and Nabiki stuck all the way on the other side of Japan. And that only left Akane. Once the baby of the family, the spoilt one, the helpless one, but now it was obviously her turn to return the care that her family had given her.

Now it was obviously her turn to shoulder some responsibility in the family.

_It's time to grow up, Akane._

It took Akane five minutes to walk down to the kitchen, despite the fact that she had lived in this house all her life and once upon a time would probably have managed to make her way around blindfolded.

Strangely, the young woman felt ashamed.

A quick check into the guest room showed that it was empty. She didn't know whether she ought to be happy or upset that Ranma evidently chose not to stay for the night. So many things... and the stupid jerk just had to choose this time to come back to Nerima too. Sometimes, she swore the man lived just to annoy and hurt her.

Stupid jerk.

She felt abruptly cold then, and her hands reached up to hug herself tightly, as though grasping desperately for a chance to protect her from _something. _Then, she dropped them limply at her side and walked into the kitchen.

_Cold night, this is._

Akane was hungry. Not bothering to turn on the lights, she strode over to the refrigerator door and pulled it open carefully, instantly met with a blast of cold air and warm eerie orange light that poured out of the fridge. Now... about those leftovers... surely Tofu-sensei hadn't thrown them out yet? She wrinkled her nose. That would be a complete waste of food! Not to mention excellent cooking...

"Hungry?" the quiet voice spoke out.

Akane whirled around with a frightened yelp. No, no, not again, it couldn't be him, mustn't be him, he was gone, she checked and the room was empty and he... he couldn't, he wouldn't have stayed, there wasn't anything in the room, he should have left and let her be and leave her family alone and...!

"Ranma," she spoke simply.

He detached himself from the shadows and walked over, keeping a considerable amount of distance between them. She stared at him without a word.

He had grown; her traitorous mind spoke up snidely. She agreed. Not merely in the physical sense. Sure, he had filled out nicely. He was taller than she remembered, and his shoulders were broader. When he had first appeared she had been too clouded with hurt and anger to even think about observing him, but now as the orange light from the refrigerator hit his face, she saw with a detached air that his features had sharpened.

But it was more than that. Much more. The Ranma she knew would have tried to comfort her the moment he arrived. He would have been kinder, less callous and he would have made her feel safe. Now he was nearly a stranger, someone whom she had not seen for over half a decade and who evidently had grown up plenty during this time. He still brought with him the aura of security, but now she felt oddly vulnerable around him.

He was different now.

Gone was the boy. This was Saotome Ranma the man.

"We need to talk, Akane," he said. It wasn't a request. It was a statement.

She would have flinched, but didn't. "We have..." she started to say, but faltered for a moment before she strengthened. "We have nothing to talk about, Ranma."

_Oh, but we have._

Ranma was silent for a moment. "Tofu threw out the leftovers. Cook yourself some instant noodles or something," he said, as though she hadn't said anything.

"I can't cook, Ranma." Akane laughed, the sound oddly choked. "Or have you forgotten?"

He gave a lidded gaze. "Just checking. Thought you might have learnt something now." Without really waiting for a reply, he pointed to a chair at the table. "Sit."

She sat. And watched wonderingly as he flicked on the lights and began to bring out pots and pans. The scene was almost surreal; her sitting obediently at the table, still wrapped in a bathrobe that she never changed out of and her ex-fiancé preparing to cook instant noodles at one in the morning.

"How's life been to you these six years?" his voice was quiet as he filled the pot with water from the tap, but nonetheless managed to jolt her out of her own private thoughts.

Such a simple question, it was. Unfortunately, Akane wasn't quite ready for the influx of memories that abruptly barged right to the front of her mind. All of a sudden she didn't know what she wanted to cry, or break out in hysterical laughter or smack Ranma with the chair she was sitting on. All three, perhaps. Gripping the table tightly, she breathed in deeply, forcing herself to calm down. Ranma... Ranma brought out the worst in her. Not once in her six years away from home had she ever been so agitated... Well, maybe just once. But... it couldn't be denied that Ranma was the main cause of her muddled feelings, could it?

"Fine. I moved out after..." She paused. "I moved out. Finished university. Became an actress. And you?"

Ranma nodded silently, setting the pot on the stove. "So I heard. Nabiki says you look set to be quite famous," he commented off-handedly.

Akane's eyes widened. "You keep in touch with Nabiki onee-chan?"

He smirked somberly. "Internet helps. She gave me a few favors," he answered shortly, bringing the water to a boil.

She did not reply. _Nabiki never told me..._

It appeared she fell asleep at the table then, because before she knew it someone was shaking her lightly. "Hey Akane... The food's done..." Blinking blearily, she lifted her heavy head and looked right into Ranma's stormy blue eyes.

Well, _that_ woke Akane up quickly. Was that amusement she saw in his eyes?

Mumbling a soft 'thank you', she began to eat, blatantly choosing to ignore the man sitting across her who had also begun to eat. The food seemed to disappear entirely too fast and before she knew it, Ranma had whisked the empty bowls off to wash.

She wished he wouldn't be so nice. It was hard to hate him when he was so nice.

"Guess you found out about Daddy through Nabs, didn't you?" she asked, breaking the silence then.

He nodded, drying the bowls off.

Akane cast her eyes down at the floor sadly. "Are you sad, Ranma?" she questioned. It would be too difficult for her to accept should Ranma say 'no'. She wanted to know, no, needed to know if somewhere inside this stranger there still resided a glimpse of the young man she always had a tender spot for. Maybe he was like her. It took her ages for the truth to sink it; the shock had been too great, to the point that she had wandered up and down the house making arrangements before the sight of her father's dead body had jolted her into a fresh new plane of grief and mourning. Perhaps Ranma was shocked... perhaps he just didn't show it...

Ranma placed the dishes into the rack, before turning to regard her carefully. "Akane," he spoke, watching her with a strange intensity. "You're tired. Go to bed."

Her head snapped up and she felt her ire stirring. She would be damned if she let him trick her once more and worm his way out of it.

"Answer me, Saotome," she barely managed to say, her voice turning frostily cold.

He sighed and turned away, looking out the window. "Tendou Soun isn't one of my favorite people in the world, Akane. You, of all people, should know that."

"Oh." That was enough for her. She had thought... well she didn't know what she had thought... but obviously the rude but nonetheless kindhearted Ranma she had once knew wasn't here anymore...

He wanted to admit to Akane then, that despite not really liking Tendou Soun very much, he would miss the old man. All the games of shogi. All the demon heads. All the teary bawling. After all, he had lived under the man's roof for nearly four years. The man had grown on him.

Too bad Akane already left the kitchen.

-

The sun rose.

Well, of course the sun rose every single day of the every single week. Nothing surprising or astonishing, really.

Akane awoke to the sounds of activity going on downstairs. It took her a few seconds to orientate herself, before she realized she was in the Tendou Doujou. She sighed. Maybe she should have stayed asleep.

It still hurt to think that her father wasn't around anymore.

Not thinking clearly, she opened the windows and looked out, sleepily rubbing her eyes. That was when she noticed Ranma, without a shirt on, running through a kata down on the lawn.

And any peace she had flew right out the window.

Abruptly, as though Ranma noticed her gaze, he stopped, the motion seemingly as fluid as his katas itself, and looked up at her.

She looked away at the intensity then. Shutting the windows, Akane fell back into bed.

She really, really, _really _didn't want to deal with anything at the moment.

The slim young woman dressed smartly stepped out of the cab and retrieved her bags. Slamming the door of the vehicle shut, she watched stoically as the cab rumbled away, hands resting lightly on her hips. Frowning slightly, she picked up her bags from the pavement, wishing that her skirt didn't show off as much leg as it did. Normally she wouldn't have minded; after all, nothing wrong with flaunting a bit of a woman's sexuality was there? But the weather had become much colder here in Nerima, and she seemed to have forgotten that...

No matter. She would soon be warm. At the moment she was weary, disheartened and more than a little irritable. Still, she knew for sure that her family would receive her warmly. With a shake of her bob of dark brown hair, the woman glanced up at the sign proclaiming Tendou Doujou and smiled briefly.

Tendou Nabiki was back in Nerima.


	4. Up in the Stars

A/N: I'm back! (: Been terribly busy lately... but enjoy the new chapter! Feel free to leave comments and criticisms!

And to Silent Tears of Agony, this will be a RA fic!

To whomever it was that sent me the email regarding Tofu's name, I'm so sorry I couldn't reply because I accidentally deleted the email! In any case, I guess what I meant was that the webpages I went to listed the Ranma characters as Saotome Ranma, Tendou Akane etc. but also Tofu as Tofu Ono. Thus, I got a bit confused. Don't worry, I know about the last names being in front thing! After all, being Chinese myself, my own last name comes before my first name.

_**A big thankyou to AnnechanB, pieee, Keisha, The Liz, TetsuoTsubushi, Azureclouds, blah, Silent Tears of Agony, Tornado(Reviewer, Alamandorious,!**_

**__**

**-**

****

**Mellow  
****Chapter 3**

"I'm home."

It had been a long time since Nabiki had said that. She smiled for a split second as she dropped her bags and stood, waiting patiently. Almost at once, a flurry of activity manifested and inwardly she chuckled knowingly as the sliding doors flew open and a familiar attractive dark-haired woman all but hurled herself at her, letting loose a cry of mixed relief and distress.

"Whoa, Akane..." was all Nabiki managed to get out before her younger sister began hugging her tightly, squeezing the breath out of her. Behind them, Kasumi walked out serenely, her eyes lighting up at the sight of them. Nabiki was just about to try to call out a greeting to her oldest sister when without warning, the older woman slipped her arms around the both of them, holding her siblings with a grip she had never knew Kasumi possessed.

"Welcome home, Nabiki-chan," Kasumi murmured quietly. Her voice was deceptively calm, but... she could feel Kasumi shaking lightly...

All thoughts were gone as Akane opened up her hug to include Kasumi. When she looked up, Akane's eyes were suspiciously bright even as she laughed and made a teasing comment about the length of her tiny black skirt. Kasumi merely smiled, her firm grip on the two of them barely lessening.

And when they all collapsed into a myriad of soft laughter and tears, Nabiki, in an uncharacteristic moment of tenderness that surprised even herself, pulled her sisters close and shut her eyes, wondering why there had suddenly appeared the sting of fresh wetness from beneath her eyelids.

-

Lunch was wonderful.

Kasumi had really outdone herself this time, Nabiki leant back calmly and reflected. It was as though she had transferred her happiness at seeing them back in the same house into her cooking, and considering her everyday cooking was more or less fantastic, this was the equivalent of a feast. Tofu had been by her side, and despite looking slightly tired and upset, the longhaired woman had smiled and laughed, gentle hands carefully cooking and preparing everything.

Although, her laughter did come across as slightly strained at times. Nabiki's eyes narrowed. She would look into that.

Akane... Well, Akane had grown. For two years she hadn't seen the girl, what's with their busy schedules and all. Sure, they kept in contact through emails, letters and phone calls, but with everyone's busy work, two years had passed by in frenzy. Then, out of the blue Akane was back. Slender, bright-eyed and breathtakingly beautiful, Akane had filled out very nicely, if she did say so herself. If she had been cute in her teenage years, she was now nothing short of strikingly alluring. Nabiki smirked. She had always known they had inherited good genes. Kasumi was beautiful, Akane was beautiful, and Nabiki for one had no lack of suitors. This was no boast, merely a fact, and she knew it.

She also knew that she wasn't the only one who had been appraising Akane during lunch. The young man next to Tofu, for instance, obviously still bore affections for her younger sister. Ah, Ranma.

Oh, Nabiki was an observant one. Very observant indeed.

It had been a long time since she last saw Ranma as well, the woman mused to herself. Six years actually. The Internet helped, but of course that simply wasn't the same. Ranma had changed, and for once she realized she wasn't as able to read into him like she used to. Six years ago, Ranma was a boy still growing, still choosing and searching. At the moment, however, Ranma seemed to have lost the boyishness that made it so easy for her to tap into his moods and use them to her advantage. Physically he still had the same boyish grin, but if she dared say so herself, he seemed more... guarded, somehow.

Nabiki let her eyes drift shut for a split second before she opened them and listened to the sound of the wind chimes.

Well, now that she was here and the Tendou Doujou seemed in one piece, she supposed Ranma would be free to leave. That was, if he wanted to. Her eyes glinted abruptly. On the other hand, if he wanted to stay... things were going to get rather nasty. She could practically feel the hostile vibes coming from Akane every time she looked at Ranma.

Akane wasn't really angry, Nabiki believed. She was angry, yes, but not really angry. It was a little trait of her sister that had been apparent all through her teenage years.

To Akane, anger was a much easier emotion to harness.

Once in a while, Nabiki wondered just how things would have turned out if Ranma hadn't left.

The story was simple enough. One fine morning in Nerima, one Kunou Kodachi somehow got it through her thick head that her darling Ranma-sama and the redheaded hussy were the same person. Thus began an elaborate plan that happened to include Ukyou, Shampoo, Kunou and even Ryouga, to sort out the enigma known as Saotome Ranma. For some reason, random explosions, poisoned feasts and fake marriage certificates had somehow been weaved into it. To top things off, the fathers decided to push forward with yet _another_ wedding. This went on continuously for two weeks.

Perhaps the last straw had been the unknown arsonist who torched Saotome Nodoka's home late one night.

In the end, Ranma snapped. Kunou, Kodachi and Ukyou ended up in hospital with severe second and third degree burns. Nodoka was admitted for severe smoke inhalation. The wedding was called off and Ranma disappeared without warning from Nerima one night. Nodoka, once able to speak, furiously declared all engagements null and void.

That, Nabiki reflected grimly, had been the only time she had seen Ranma's mother so livid and agitated, to the point where she had began to sob uncontrollably and had to be sedated by the hospital staff.

Without Ranma, Nerima sank into a state of dream-like ominous silence. The Amazons returned to China. The last she saw, Shampoo had been pale and trembling, uncharacteristically weak to the point where she was willing to even borrow the support of Mousse. It was completely shocking to be met with the sight of the normally strong Amazon so pale and vulnerable-looking.

Genma and Nodoka moved away not long after, Genma strangely downcast. They never did write to tell the others of their whereabouts, and frankly, Nabiki didn't blame them. Akane sank into depression and soon moved away to the other side of Tokyo, choosing to continue her university education from there. Ukyou packed up and left, only stopping to send a note that was never answered, seeking forgiveness from the Saotome matriarch. Ryouga never did manage to return to Nerima after that. The Kunou siblings returned to their mansion, and they apparently sobered up quickly.

Those were dark days. Nabiki looked out grimly. Away at Tokyo University, she never did find out what happened. Akane simply refused to speak about it, shutting herself up for hours at a stretch. The rest of those involved similarly refused. It was as though a chapter had been written and the book sealed shut. Bit by bit Nabiki had managed to extract information, but she never did find out the entire story.

How ever did something as simple as a devious plan thought up by a blinded fool like Kodachi ever get so out of hand? How on earth could something like this happen? In Nerima, incidents considered bizarre and impossible by an outsider were seen as normal and everyday, but this... this was too much, too complicated, and too deep for it to be taken lightly. Nothing had ever been so serious and uncontrollable before.

There had been no clear ulterior motive. No well-thought plan. No carefully-crafted ideas. Just a muddling mess of grief and pain. Suffering that did nothing except drive them all apart.

But people heal, Nabiki supposed. The last she heard, Shampoo had married Mousse. Ukyou somehow ended up taking Ryouga in, and supposedly Ryouga proved to be a rather good cook, that was, if he didn't get lost around the kitchen. Akane became an actress, and a fast-rising one, at that. Kasumi married Tofu four years ago, in a small private ceremony attending only by family. Kunou became a lawyer, and a damn good one, if Nabiki allowed herself to admit. She snorted. Must have been something about his stubborn-like-a-bull nature. Kodachi became a chemist. That was rather disturbing, though. The horrors that woman was capable of unleashing upon the world... And for Nabiki herself? Well, business had always been her forte...

Well, she could deal with this 'deep dark past' business later. Right now it appeared that she had a guest of some sorts. Smirking, Nabiki allowed herself to face the young man who had intruded on her rather languid reflection on the patio.

"Ranma-kun," the woman addressed, watching as he took a seat not too far from when she sat. "It's been long, hasn't it?" He made no reply, merely choosing to stare out intently at some invisible speck in the distance. Nabiki resisted a small chuckle at his expense. Did he really think keeping mum would help things around here? At the age of seventeen she was known as the Ice Queen of Furinkan High School. Now at age twenty-seven, her whole job involved dealing with people, and in some cases, manipulating them as and when required. She smiled coldly. _Honestly now, Ranma, you should know that._ Almost at once her thoughts turned solemn.

"Right, Ranma-kun," she drawled calmly. "You've done what I asked you to do. I extend my heartfelt thanks to you. You can leave now, if you like."

He nodded, and stood.

"Although," she added thoughtfully just as he took a step towards the living room. "No one said you couldn't stay. I think it would help someone in this house if you stayed."

There was a long pause.

"I'll think about it, Nabiki." And he was gone. She did not bother looking to see where he had gone.

He would do what was right, she knew.

Once in a while, Nabiki would sit back and think. She spent a lot of time thinking, technically, but this was more of reflecting and reviewing her observations. This way, she learnt more. This was, perhaps, why she proved to be so successful. This was also why, perhaps, she always chose to keep out most of the happenings, preferring rather to be the one in the background silently monitoring and dissecting the people around her, resulting in her coming across as distant and aloof.

Oh, she wasn't aloof. She cared more than most people think. She just happened to prefer doing things the more, ah... _subtle_ way.

But age had mellowed Nabiki, of course. This she knew.

She waited.

An hour later, she walked to the front door and saw that Ranma's shoes were still there.

Smirking, Nabiki returned to her spot on the patio.

-

The day had seemed early, but in the blink of an eye, it had slipped past, leaving her with nothing but the dark of the night and the soft glow from the stars. She was alone, quiet and contemplating, but alone. Yet for once Akane decided she liked the quiet. Such a nice stark contrast from her everyday life.

She could not remember why she had crawled out onto the roof, draped in nothing more than a flimsy nightgown and a thick woolly sweater that she had pulled around herself tightly. The night was cold, but she did not feel it. The only things that she was even dimly aware of were the few stars that dotted the dark inky sky.

"_Do you see, Akane?" _

"_See what, Daddy?"_

"_The stars. Your Mama. She's in the stars."_

That had been a long time ago. One late night when she had awoken, calling for her mother, and wandered out onto the patio, one hand fisted tightly around the arm of a teddy bear. There she saw her father, not crying for once, sitting alone. And in the tenderest act of affection he had ever shown to her, he patted for her to sit down beside him on the patio, telling her to look up to the stars.

His eyes had been dry, and he had been smiling, albeit sadly.

That was how she fell asleep that night, curled up slightly against her father. When she awoke, she had been in bed; covers tucked neatly under her chin and she faintly recalled listening intently to the sounds of her sisters' slow deep breathing in the middle of the night.

The house was quiet now. The lasts he had seen, Nabiki had been in her old room, carefully calculating a rather intimidating bunch of sums and typing them neatly into her laptop. She thought Kasumi had been tired and had retired to her room early, but when she walked past the room her sister shared with Tofu, Akane thought she heard crying. Minutes later, as though Tofu had sensed her uncertain hovering at the door, he had appeared, and kindly reassured her that Kasumi was all right. Ranma was still in the house, though he had retreated to the guest room his used to occupy for most of the day, doing goodness-knows-what, and frankly, that suited Akane just fine. She had no particular wish to see him, and had pointedly gone out of her way to avoid him.

She could have gone to her room, but she felt somewhat tired of it. And so, in a moment of impulsivity, Akane had grabbed her sweater and made her way up the roof. Making her way up had been surprisingly easy. When she had been younger, she used to rely a bit on a ladder of some sorts to climb up. Now, all she needed was to find a good grip and somehow, she managed to swing herself up quite effortlessly.

"Hey, Akane."

She craned her head slightly to see the top of Nabiki's brown head appear over the edge of the roof. Nabiki, unlike her, did not seem to have improved much when it came to the Art, Akane noted, smiling faintly when she saw the way the older woman glanced around in distaste and discomfort as she attempted to climb up a ladder. Waving a little in welcome to her sister, Akane leant forward and reached out, pulling her sister up.

"Hey Nabs," she returned, smiling, and watched as Nabiki finally dropped to a casual position next to her, blowing out a deep breath. Studying her sister by the moonlight, Nabiki pursed her lips thoughtfully.

"You look like shit," Nabiki informed her flatly.

Akane frowned, but made no comment. Hey, just because she happened to look really bad at the moment didn't mean she had to kindly inform Nabiki that a leaf had caught in her hair. She smirked happily. Let the neighbors tell Nabiki...

Nabiki reached up and pulled the dried leaf out calmly, letting it flutter off helplessly into the night. Akane made a face.

"So, Nabs, what's up?" the younger woman asked lightly, stretching out her legs on the roof. Her sister was quiet for a moment, gazing intently at Akane's bare toes as she wriggled them harmlessly.

"Well, Akane..." Nabiki looked off into the distance. "I've placed an obituary in the papers, and made arrangements for the funeral. The day after tomorrow." She let the words hang, and unconsciously Akane shivered.

"Will...will he be buried?" Akane asked somewhat hesitantly, drawing her knees close to her body. Leaning forward, she gradually touched her chin to the top of her knees, arms coming up to encircle herself tightly.

In spite of herself, Nabiki snorted and let out a short laugh. "Daddy was smarter than we took him for," she spoke plainly, smiling a smile with something akin to tenderness. "Remember the plot of land next to Mother's grave?" At Akane's slight nod, she continued. "Daddy's reserved that since a long time ago. AT least, now he'll be next to Mother. He'd like that, don't you think, Akane?" Nabiki mused thoughtfully, her forehead crinkling slightly in the darkness.

Next to Mother, Nabiki said. Akane grew quiet, fingers touching her chin lightly in a fluttering pensive manner. Mama was everything to Daddy. Of course he would be happy.

"I think he would be happy," she finally answered. Nabiki nodded, as though satisfied with her answer.

"Good." Regarding Akane beneath lidded eyelids, Nabiki tilted her head lightly. "Get some sleep, Akane. I still think you look like shit." Without really waiting for a reply, Nabiki pushed herself slightly to her feet, intending to return to the house. Unlike her dear sister, she didn't take too kindly to sitting out on the roof in the middle of some cold autumn night. In fact, her room was looking much more cozy... In any case, she had a bit of unfinished business to tend to. That envelope that had arrived with the evening's mail had the word "Urgent" stamped on, and if she had seen correctly, she believed it had been addressed to a Tendou Soun...

"Nabiki, wait!" She paused, and looked back at her sister. Abruptly, she felt herself softening at the sight of Akane sitting in the moonlight.

She looked exactly like their mother. The same dark hair, the same honey-brown eyes, the same pale delicate features. Except, a troubled shadow had settled on the younger woman's face, and she looked utterly lost.

"I'm cold," she told Nabiki hesitantly.

She could have rolled her eyes at Akane there and then, but at the moment, she wasn't feeling up to such acts of immaturity. _So get inside the house, you silly girl..._

"Can I hug you, Nabiki-oneechan?" Akane's voice was soft, and scared.

Nabiki was never one for open displays of affection. In fact she found them a complete waste of time and energy, what with all the nonsensical sobbing and hugging and passionate declarations of affection. But... she wasn't inhuman. And Akane did sound terribly lost... so...

Sighing softly to herself, Nabiki opened her arms and allowed Akane to hold her tightly, the younger woman's body shaking violently with the impact of silent sobs.

-


	5. Remember

**A/N**: HEY! (: Exams are overrrrrr and I am. HIGH. As it is very apparent. Mwahahahaha. I do believe I will flunk my papers very badly however. Anyway, thank you for the reviews, and the wonderful comments! You don't know how very happy they made me! Hurhur.

**ChelseaBurger22**: Firstly, glad you like the story! (: Okay, actually 'learnt' does exist. 'Learned' is the American English version, 'learnt' is the British English version of past tense for 'learn'. I use the British English version, since it's what the education system in Singapore uses anyway. Err, except for the times when I type 'color' and 'neighbor' and Word automatically changes it to American Eng. Hope that clears things up! (:

**Mellow**

**Chapter 4**

_Remember me when I am gone away,  
Gone far away into the silent land;  
When you can no more hold me by the hand,  
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.  
Remember me when no more, day by day,  
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:  
Only remember me; you understand  
It will be too late to counsel then or pray.  
Yet if you should forget me for a while  
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:  
For if the darkness and corruption leave  
Avestige of the thoughts I once had,  
Better by far you should forget and smile  
Than that you should remember and be sad.  
-Christine Rossetti (1830-1894)_

The next day passed. Kasumi flitted around the house in a dazed stupor, doing housework with an almost obsessive compulsion. Tofu stayed home, and when he wasn't helping Nabiki organize the funeral, he was carefully guiding Kasumi around, his grip on her firm yet gentle. Nabiki threw herself into organizing the funeral, liaising with the undertaker, negotiating the prices, and settling the details. Half the time she walked around, jabbing incessantly at a calculator and making phone calls, and the other half of the time and scowled and frowned. As the day wore on she grew increasingly irritable. Obviously this was Nabiki's way of relieving stress and grief.

Ranma... well Ranma did his katas. Helped out in the housework. Helped out in the funeral. Ate. Stayed in the room. Talked to Tofu. And of course, he studiously avoided Akane. Not that he needed to put in much effort anyway, judging by the numerous times Akane pointedly refused to acknowledge his presence in the house. Akane had rediscovered her love for punching dummies, and been rather enthusiastic in indulging herself.

And then night came. They had dinner, a quiet simple affair, broken only by the wail of a stray cat. To which Akane sniffed and promptly retrieved the starving abandoned gray cat from outside, before proceeding to carry it into the house to feed it scraps from the dining table.

"You don't mind, do you, Kasumi-chan?" she had asked sweetly, patting the cat. "After all, no one in this house is scared of cats."

Nabiki noted with much amusement that Ranma had turned rather... pale and begun sweating, his grip on his chopsticks becoming uncharacteristically tight. He had also excused himself rather quickly soon after that. She had to commend him however, when he had been younger she was sure he was have ran away screaming the moment the cat was brought into the house.

Ranma avoided Akane even more that night. He locked himself into his room, and frankly, no one blamed him, what with the cat attaching itself to Akane and all. She always did have some sort of deep love for animals. Kasumi smiled and went off to bed, Tofu following close behind, and privately Akane wondered if Kasumi needed some help, being so pale. Nabiki nodded goodnight briefly and disappeared into her room, although her light stayed on for quite some time past midnight. Akane sighed and retreated to her room with the cat in her arms. Minutes later, she left the house dressed warmly and released the cat out into the alley, knowing that it probably wouldn't have liked staying with her anyway.

And the night passed. At first it didn't seem like it would pass, and Akane spent a long time tossing and turning. Yet, somehow when she closed her eyes for a brief second and opened them once more, it was morning already.

She felt like shit. She was quite sure she looked like shit too.

Crawling out of bed, the dark-haired woman stumbled her way to the bathroom. Yet just as she was about to push open the door, it swung open, and Ranma stepped out, clad in a black Chinese silk shirt. She started at the sight of him, before frowning and pointedly looking away.

"Where's the cat?" His question was simple and with no motive behind it.

She slumped mildly. "I set it free."

"Hn."

She entered the bathroom, and shut the door quietly, before stripping to take a quick shower. The room was still steamy and wet with the last hot shower.

-

Kasumi looked around, her hands twisting in her lap.

Funny, wasn't it? How her bad habits came back at the strangest of times. She thought she had gotten over this twisting of hands thing when she was eleven. When she was young, the first thing she would do with confronted with unpleasant happenings was to twist her hands tightly in her lap and peek out beneath lidded eyes anxiously. Gradually it wore off, but here she was, seated in a cemetery where her father was to be buried, twisting her hands like... like the world was coming to an end or something.

"Kasumi?" She cocked her head slightly, smiling a small brief smile as she watched Akane take a seat next to her. Pretty sweet young Akane... almost wistfully, she reached up and stroked the younger woman's hair. She looked just like their mother, and the resemblance just seemed to become stronger with each passing year.

Akane leant down, her head resting on Kasumi's shoulder. "Kasumi-neechan, it's almost time..." she murmured, her voice barely audible.

Kasumi let her eyes drift shut. Akane didn't need to finish the sentence. Letting her eyes flutter open, she looked down into her lap, picking up the tiny white snowflakes that she had sewn into the simple black dress she wore. She had always liked sewing very much, Kasumi did. Learnt it when she was young from her mother, and she stayed up many a night practicing her running stitch, her cross stitch, her back stitch... She recalled sewing up her sisters' torn clothes and uniforms, her neighbors' torn aprons, Ranma and Mr. Saotome's many torn clothes, exchanging sewing tips with Auntie Saotome, lovingly mending her father's torn hakama...

She stopped then, and forced herself not to think.

Kasumi bent her head slightly, and closed her eyes. She had left the funeral arrangements up to Nabiki and Tofu, but had made sure that Soun was buried in his favorite hakama. They had contemplated dressing him a brand new hakama, but she had objected, asking for her father to be dressed in the deep green hakama he had loved and worn.

"It will be good if Father is comfortable," she had said quietly, in a voice full of steel and pleading at the same time.

They agreed.

Akane wandered off sometime in her thoughts, and Kasumi paused in her thinking mildly. The sky was a pale gray she noted, and the wind stirred restlessly around them.

"Kasumi?"

Turning around slightly, she raised up a brief smile to her husband of four years, sadly noting how dark circles had formed around his eyes. Their marriage had been a quiet simple one, lovingly planned and savored. They had been so shy, so oblivious... but somehow something had blossomed and Kasumi was thankful. Once Tofu got over his flustering little habit of dancing with Betty around her, he had turned out to be wonderfully perceptive, and she was silently glad that he was always around to calm her and support her even if she did not show outwards signs of unhappiness.

Like the day Soun had died. And the days after that, when Tofu had hung around worriedly, paying much attention to her, and helping to plan the funeral.

"Kasumi, are you feeling okay?" he asked. She nodded in reply, the action practiced and calm, even though something inside yanked and began a treacherous downward descent. Tofu seemed to notice, because he sat down beside her and carefully allowed her to rest slightly against him.

"_When you feel like crying, koi, let me know."_

He had said that to her last night, and she had realized, with mild surprise, that she hadn't cried in the past few days. Fallen into a stupor, yes. Cleaned the house incessantly, yes. Walked around like a wreck, yes. Suffered insomnia, yes.

But Kasumi hadn't cried.

She had smiled then, a truly grateful smile and promised her husband she would do so. They turned in for the night, his body spooning hers comfortingly as she drifted off into a light restless sleep.

Oh, Kasumi thought. How her sisters would react if they knew of their big sister Kasumi abruptly becoming so weak and in need of help and comfort. How they would react if they ever saw Tofu and her sharing a tender moment. Much as her sisters regarded her marriage as 'cute', and 'meant for each other', she sometimes wondered if people took them seriously.

She did not know how to explain it.

But it did not matter. Kasumi slowly let her heavy head fall onto Tofu's shoulder.

She had someone to lean on. That was good, she thought.

-

At about 3 in the afternoon, Tendou Soun was laid to rest finally, next to the grave of his departed wife. He was buried in his favorite gi and hakama, in a beautifully carved polished mahogany casket. He looked peaceful, more peaceful than anyone had ever seen him, as he lay silently in the coffin, hair streaked with gray and wrinkles on his skin.

They were not a religious family, but they held a simple service for him. The roses were scattered onto the coffin, the soft velvety petals a stark contrast to the hard wood and coarse soil. One by one, they each scattered a handful of soil over the grave, watching without words as the deep brown trickled and ebbed and scattered from their hands.

People turned up for the funeral. Many people, from all walks of life. Local policemen, shopkeepers, old family friends, young maids working at nearby restaurants, neighbors... It surprised them, that Soun had managed to make so many acquaintances without them knowing. It made them wonder, and smile sadly as some ventured forward to tell bittersweet tales of how Soun tried his best to save the town from the mysterious panty-thief. How he would talk so happily and fondly about uniting the schools to the grocery shopkeeper as he bought some sake.

But it was over. The casket was buried, and all that was left of Soun Tendou was a grave, marked with a white tombstone and the soft memories that stirred restlessly in the wind.

The skies, full of their own grief, burst. A dreary cold rain had started, pelting down mournfully. One by one, the mourners left.

First it was friends. Then it was family.

Kasumi, shaken and grief-stricken, had begun to cry the moment soil was heaped unto the coffin. Silent, pitiful, rasping sobs that shook her completely and made her look like a small lost child. Tofu had come then, and led her away with the caring touch of a husband and doctor, and they had retreated into Tofu's car, Kasumi still weeping and sobbing uncontrollably.

Akane did not cry. The rain had poured down without warning, but she stood there, some distance from the graves of her parents. She had looked at the graves, eyes full of beseeching and anguish and questioning, and her low lip trembled violently. But she did not cry.

Then her knees gave out and Akane toppled in a crumpled heap, still staring dully at the tombstones. It had taken much effort to get Akane out of the rain and into Tofu's car, but it was done all the same. Akane, apparently stuck in her own world, did not seem to notice that it was Ranma who had finally picked her up and carted her off.

That left Nabiki.

The young woman sent a sweeping glance around the graveyard, noting the lack of people. Her family was waiting in the car, waiting for her to join them. The rest of the mourners had long gone, chased away by the strong harsh rain.

That meant she was alone.

Unmindful of the heavy rain, Nabiki raised her face and allowed herself to cry.

-

Night had long fallen. The house was quiet, except for Akane making her way to the Doujou. She walked on unwaveringly, feeling as though she were in some sort of daze. It was quiet; too quiet. It felt wrong. Still, undeterred, the young woman carefully maneuvered herself into the training hall, hands skimming briefly over the walls in her search for the light switch she knew was there.

Dinner had been a silent affair. Actually, all that happened was Nabiki tossing packets of instant ramen at her. "Dinner's ramen tonight," her sister had said flatly. "Kasumi isn't feeling up to cooking. I'm not going to order take-out, so deal with it."

Akane had picked up the packet of instant ramen and looked at it dully. She stared at it. And stared.

She dropped it back onto the table half-heartedly. She wasn't feeling hungry anyway.

Nabiki did not eat that night. She retreated to bed at an astonishingly early hour. Kasumi hadn't left her room all afternoon.

Light flooded the training hall, and Akane stepped back involuntarily with a small gasp. She hadn't felt the light switch...

"Looking for this?" she looked up at Ranma, whose finger was currently tapping lightly on the light switch.

Akane felt an uncanny sense of déjà vu over this...

"Why are you here?" Her voice was quiet, and somehow she felt an unexplainable rush of anger clouding over her senses.

"Mediating," Ranma replied. Walking over to a corner of the training hall, he settled into the lotus position and shut his eyes, leaving Akane to watch silently after him. She struggled briefly with herself then, before her eyes narrowed and hardened, and she stalked over to Ranma with a fierce determination.

"Ranma."

"What?" he answered, eyes still closed.

"Spar with me." For a second, Ranma looked almost surprised, and she privately wondered if she had gone insane. Much as Akane had improved over the years, she had no doubt that Ranma was still much stronger and more powerful than she could ever hope to be. Judging by his physique, she was certain he worked out regularly, and still practiced the Art with the diligence she had been so familiar with. Besides, he hadn't wanted to fight girls before; what made her so sure he would fight her now?

But he did not back down. He looked at her then, and got to his feet, flexing his muscles experimentally. "Fine," Ranma told her.

She didn't know if she wanted to laugh in triumph or to cry in bitterness. She did neither, instead choosing to take up a defensive stance.

They bowed. Then, without waiting, Akane launched the fight with a sharp kick at Ranma's head. He dodged easily, body slipping past like water. She said nothing, choosing instead to unleash a flurry of punches. Still he dodged, and Akane's eyes hardened.

"Fight me!" she snapped.

It was the same thing she would say to him, every single time she asked him to spar with her. It would start, a playful pastime and she would yell at him angrily to return her punches. But he was good; too good for her, and all he did was dance around her lightly, eyes twinkling in mirth and occasionally dropping one or two insults to push her further.

But now he said nothing. He still danced around, his movements as fluid as water, but he said nothing and she attacked mercilessly.

She couldn't have this right now. She needed to hear his familiar taunts, his biting insults, and she needed to release this tight ball of anger that curled into itself and flushed her horribly. She needed to hit something, to push out the rage and the anger, to force out her questions and her hurt.

But he wouldn't let her.

Akane could very well have begun to cry. She swung out angrily, the movement a calculated yet heated one, but Ranma foresaw it easily, and raised an arm, blocking her.

"So, Ranma..." Akane spoke suddenly, her voice deceptively light and casual. "How does it feel, coming back to Nerima after all this time?" She watched as he stiffened suddenly, and inwardly she felt a struggle. Contempt for making him feel uncomfortable, but disgust at herself for resorting to such measures. "Well, Ranma? Nerima has a welcoming feel, doesn't it? Everyone loved you so much you know..."

His eyes, the beautiful shade of steel blue that she had loved so much, hardened. She froze, knowing she had stepped over the line. Abruptly his leg shot out, sweeping her off the ground in one smooth cold kick and she toppled, eyes wide and frightened.

That was... that was the first time he had ever struck her.

"Akane..." he breathed. His voice was low, tight, and his eyes angry. "Take it back."

"I..." She shrank away, suddenly feeling cold and afraid.

"Take it back, Akane," he repeated, voice growing harder. Akane winced in spite of herself. Ranma...

But she wouldn't allow herself to be cowed. She wouldn't let herself be afraid of the man who had stolen her heart, held it tenderly, and then proceeded to rip it into tiny shreds. She couldn't... "Why?" she demanded, eyes suddenly bright as she pulled herself to her feet and stared up at him. "If you cared so much, _Ranma_," she spat out his name like it was a curse, and perhaps, it was a curse, forced to haunt her consciousness until she grew weary with grief. "Then you wouldn't have left in the first place!"

He looked at her then, and she was acutely aware of the height difference. When he spoke she dropped her gaze, suddenly pained. "I thought we got over this a long time ago, Akane," Ranma said quietly. "Good night." Then he pulled away, walking towards the entrance. It hurt, more than she could ever admit, to see him walking off like he did so many years ago, shoulders hard and cold with controlled anger.

Something took hold in Akane then. She looked up at his departing figure, eyes burning. "It was your fault you know," she threw at him, not caring if her voice was cracking. "Your fault that your mother cried, your fault that Ukyou broke down, your fault that Shampoo cried, your fault that Ryouga never came back to Nerima!" The words were bitter and hot, the names rusty and unfamiliar on her lips. She had no idea what she was doing, or why she had chosen to dig up the painful past, even though it hurt her and burned at her.

"My fault is it?" he answered shortly. Suddenly she was confronted with Ranma's burning eyes, eyes that leapt alive with angry blue fire. "My fault?" His voice was rising, but she refused to back down; stubborn as she was. "Is it my fault that they tried to trick me? Is it my fault Kodachi poisoned the food? Is it my fault they burnt down my mother's house and nearly killed her? Tell me, Akane, is it my fault? Maybe it's my fault too that your father died?"

She could feel her eyes burning now, and desperately wished for the sting beneath her eyelids to disappear. "Leave my father out of this!" she all but screamed, chest heaving with anger and hurt. "It's all your fault anyway!"

_It's always your fault._

Why was she lying? She didn't know. Oh, Ranma, Ranma, Ranma...

"It's all your fault," she repeated thickly, suddenly aware of tears blurring her vision. "If you hadn't left, Shampoo and Ukyou would still be happy right now. If you hadn't left, Aunty Saotome wouldn't have cried so much for you. If you hadn't left, everyone would still be happy... if you hadn't left... if you hadn't left..." her voice dropped to a soft pained whisper, and she lowered her eyes, blinking furiously, almost talking to herself. "If you hadn't left... Yasuo would still be alive..."

"Who?"

Akane's head snapped up at Ranma's soft question in horror. What had she just said...?

He was approaching her now, so close that she could breathe in the distinct masculine scent that she knew was an intrinsic part of Ranma. She was scared, suddenly, and on its own accord her feet stumbled away slowly. But he kept on coming, and she was afraid, afraid of what she would say and what she would do.

"Who's Yasuo, Akane?" Ranma questioned.

She could have laughed, had she not been so horrified by what she had done. Was he... jealous? After all these years, was he still jealous? She could have laughed, amused by the flickering of male possessiveness he still harbored, even though following her chuckle she would have sobered and most likely dissolved into tears instead.

_Ranma, don't..._ She wanted to say. But she couldn't, the wetness in her eyes threatening to spill over any second now. Would he be swayed, like he used to at the sight of every girl's tears? She doubted so.

"Tell me, Akane." She felt her back touching the Doujou walls, and this time when she blinked, she became distinctly aware of wetness dripping down her face in steady streaks. Ranma would not let her leave without getting the answer he wanted, would he?

When had things gotten so bad?

He wanted an answer, didn't he? Well, she would give it to him.

Dipping her head, Akane squeezed her eyes shut tightly, forcing herself to hold down the sobs that rose from within her. "Yasuo..." she spoke softly, voice shaking with the grief that only a mother could identify with. Did he care? She looked up at him then, eyes pleading and pained.

"Yasuo was our son, Ranma."

-

Oh my. Now where did that come from? –Scratches head- Oh well. This is fast veering into the drama genre, yes? -.- Don't you just _adore_ cliffhangers? Mwahaha.

Review! (:


	6. Memory Lane: Part 1

AHAH. Bet you all thought I'd gone into hibernation or something, don't you? Nope. Actually I've just been reallyyy caught up with farewells (203'04 you **rock** T-T miss you guys!), performances (we performed at the durian! –swoon-) and camps (psb'05 rocks. Ahahah). And. The rest of the hols promise to be more hectic, so I'm sorry for not updating quickly.

Back to the story. Haha. Like the cliffie? Anyway, on with it.

**Mellow  
**Chapter 5

His eyes widened. "What?" he released faintly, shock seeping into his voice. Akane dropped her face into her hands, her voice cracking over the sobs that tore from her throat.

Outside, the winds stirred restlessly. There was a crack of thunder, and rain fell softly over Nerima.

-

_The sun was setting, deep rays of red and vermilion shooting out sharply across the sky. The winds were kind that evening, thoughtfully sending soft light breezes across the town, but she did not notice, or even bother to stop and enjoy the scenery before her that rushed past madly. No, she continued on, eyes hard and angry, her young smooth face pulled into a deep scowl._

_She heard the gasps of shock from passersby as they watched her leap over the rooftops with remarkable ease. She saw the looks of astonishment, blurred as they were, and perhaps, the looks of admiration for her lean lithe body clan in a tight form-fitting leotard. But she did not care._

_Kunou Kodachi tossed her head, eyes sharp and furious. Let the hussies look! She did not care. It was expected that lesser beings like themselves would be filled with admiration and envy for one as purebred as herself. Let them look, she thought grandly. It would do them good to learn from her boundless grace and beauty._

_Not to mention the fact that she secretly loved the attention. Besides, she was most comfortable in a leotard, and traveling on rooftops was so much more convenient than taking the conventional route on the streets. More exciting, too. _

_Whatever it was, Kodachi was clearly in a rush. An angry rush. Suddenly, she leapt down from the roof and landed, right in front of the Nekohanten. _

"_Amazon!" she screamed, watching contemptuously as the customers jerked violently from the shock. "Amazon hussy!"_

_The blind one named Mousse was before her in an instant, and she almost cringed from the raw anger that she felt from him. Surprisingly, he seemed to view her with crystal clear vision as he glared down at her. "How dare you speak that way of Shampoo?" he demanded fiercely. Kodachi ignored him; a woman of her status did not have to deal with one of his caliber. _

_Shampoo appeared then, eyes heated. She pushed Mousse out of the way carelessly, ignoring the crushed look in his eyes. "Mousse no interfere," she ordered, flicking a lock of lush lavender hair out of her face. "Go tend customers, Shampoo take this outside." Mousse obeyed, albeit unwillingly and Shampoo firmly motioned Kodachi out the door._

_Cologne watched. There was something funny about this. She never did like Kodachi very much anyway. Still, the old woman nodded to herself, Shampoo had done the right thing in not arousing the customers' unease. Setting the matter aside, she returned to her cooking. Shampoo would tell her the details later, that she was sure of._

_Outside, Shampoo was wary. She looked at Kodachi, eyes bright with suspicion. "What crazy girl want?" the Amazon questioned, hands planted on hips._

_Kodachi's eyes glimmered with a powerful thirst. Leaning forward, she dropped her voice. "I require your… assistance, Amazon." Seeing the dubious look on the other girl's face, she narrowed her eyes and launched into a long angry tale._

-

Akane had fallen. She didn't know when her knees had given out, but they had, and now she was on the cold wooden floor, crying hard into her hands and curling up in a helpless ball. Ranma had said nothing. He hadn't even moved.

She wrenched out a particularly hard sob of grief. When had it become so cold? She thought, the sound of rain registering faintly.

-

_Early that morning she had seen something, Kodachi explained, eyes hard. She had been out, ready to prepare herself for a long day of training, when she had caught sight of a familiar pigtail. Her heart had soared; was it her Ranma-sama? She had run forward then, preparing to land in front of her Ranma-sama and fill him with joy at her appearance. Yet when she neared, she had realized Ranma was not alone. At his side was the hussy Akane, and they were jogging in mutual silence._

_At this point, Kodachi glanced at Shampoo. The Chinese girl's face, already lined with annoyance at Kodachi's simpering reference to **her **Ranma-sama, grew stealthily darker. "Continue," she urged._

_She was about to leap forward to save her beloved Ranma-sama from the clutches of the evil Akane, when all of a sudden, Akane tripped and landed clumsily on the ground with a loud "oof!" Kodachi had snorted at first. Serve her right! But it horrified her then, when Ranma stopped abruptly and reached out a hand to pull her up. "Ya okay?" he asked, and Kodachi felt displeasure bubbling to the surface at the concern in his voice._

_Akane smiled weakly. "I guess. I think I might have twisted my ankle, though." She tested the injured limb, wincing at the pain. "Ouch," the girl complained, blinking furiously all of a sudden. "Maybe I'm gonna have to see Dr. Tofu about it…"_

_Ranma reached out to steady her. "Aw man," he spoke suddenly, face melting in concern and pleading. "Aw come on Akane, don't cry. It ain't much… look I'll carry you okay?" _

_She laughed suddenly, and Kodachi blinked at this uncharacteristic display by Akane. Shaking her head, Akane grinned up at Ranma through the few tears that had welled up. "Scared of a girl's tears, are you, Ranma?" she teased. "I don't mind you carrying me, though…"_

_His eyes had grown tender, his smile softer, and Kodachi had only watched in horror as her Ranma-sama tilted Akane's chin up and kissed her._

_Kissed her. Kissed her!_

_As if the gods were mocking her, a spray of water from a nearby gardener tending to the park's bushes accidentally landed all over Ranma, and Kodachi watched in more horror as her beloved Ranma-sama changed and shape shifted into a girl right before her eyes. A redheaded pigtailed hussy!_

"_Oh Ranma," she heard Akane address the redhead. "Water is really attracted to you, isn't it?"_

_Ranma shook her head exasperatedly. "Must be part of the Jusenkyou curse." She reached out to Akane. "Come on let's get you back. I want some hot water. Prefer being a male you know. Besides, this undershirt ain't doing wonders for my chest," she chuckled. _

_Kodachi watched, horrified and stunned into silence by the double whammy, as Akane and the one named Ranma walked off towards the Tendou Dojo._

-

Ranma moved then. He looked at her. Looked long and hard at her and she felt as though he could see right through her.

Ranma… Ranma, don't…

-

_Shampoo clutched her fists tightly. Her face was lined with anger as she glared out hatefully in the direction of the Tendou residence. Akane… Akane…Akane would **pay** for this! She sucked in a deep breath, but it did nothing to cool her raging anger and hurt. She knew they were getting closer, but she had no idea they were already that close! She hadn't dared to interrupt them, hadn't dared to anger Ranma, not since the failed wedding. Ranma, she recalled fearfully, had been surprisingly cool towards the rest of Nerima after the wedding, and she had gotten the feeling that anyone who threatened the safety or happiness of Akane would receive due punishment from Ranma._

_But this! This was too much. Shampoo didn't really like fighting over a man. Sure, she could go to great lengths to protect what belonged rightfully to her, but she had come to feel genuine affection for Ranma, and perhaps, that was what made her hesitant to hurt Akane's feelings._

_The Amazons emphasized on the woman's power. The woman's strength. And at the same time the woman's emotions._

_As a woman, she loved Ranma too. So did Akane. That Shampoo understood._

_No matter now. She had to defend her rightful property. Ranma was hers. The laws dictated so. _

_She turned to the still babbling Kodachi and in a moment of anger, screamed at her. "Shut up!" she yelled. "Shut up!" Kodachi did shut up, staring at her in a mix of shock and indignation. Shampoo continued, too consumed with rage. "Stupid crazy girl no understand pigtailed girl **is**__Ranma! Pigtailed girl and Ranma same person! Stupid crazy girl! Stupid!"_

_Kodachi sprang back. "You are mad," she snapped. "My Ranma-sama is under the spell of that hussy!"_

_Shampoo growled dangerously. She turned and stalked into the Nekohanten. Within seconds she appeared with a jug of cold water in one hand, and hot water in the other. "Ranma cursed with Jusenkyou curse," she spoke slowly, as though Kodachi was a complete idiot, which she could be at times. "Shampoo also cursed." Before the Japanese girl could retort, she set the hot water down and overturned the cold water on herself._

_The jug clattered onto the floor. Kodachi stared, speechless, as the purple cat shook itself vehemently, spraying water over her. Hissing, the cat knocked over the hot water, spilling it onto itself, and in seconds, Shampoo stood before her._

"_This is… this is sorcery…" Kodachi stammered. This was impossible…_

_Shampoo sniffed. "Crazy girl believe what she like. This is Jusenkyou curse. Shampoo become cat. Ranma become girl." Picking up the jugs, Shampoo turned to leave. "Shampoo go reclaim husband. Crazy girl leave now."_

_Kodachi straightened suddenly. "Wait."_

-

"Akane…"

She looked up, wary at the darkness and turmoil in Ranma's voice.

"How did Yasuo die?"

She fought over how she should tell him this. Did he deserve to know? Not really. "I…" it hurt to say this, but she had to, to protect her baby's memories. "I had an abortion."

There was a loud crash of thunder outside, and for a split second, Akane imagined Ranma looked anguished.

-

"_I will call out to him," Kodachi declared._

_Shampoo narrowed her eyes. "Shampoo think not. Ranma Shampoo husband."_

_The plan was to get Ranma's attention away from Akane. Kodachi had accepted, albeit unwillingly, Ranma's curse, and Shampoo had agreed to a joint plan. Producing a pale pink powder, Shampoo explained it was some sort of aphrodisiac. Once devoured, the first person to call out to the eater would earn the eater's attentions._

_Is potent, Shampoo had hissed strongly. Too too potent! _

_Kodachi snorted. There was an antidote prepared anyway, just in case. And should all else fail… Kodachi patted the leather bag of powder in her pocket. She could always rely on her own creations if Shampoo's idea failed._

_To make matters worst, however, Ukyou had stumbled upon them arguing about who to call out to Ranma. Of course, she had found out quickly about what happened, and argued equally strongly about being the one to call out to Ranma. _

_In the end, it was decided that Ukyou would put the aphrodisiac into her okonomiyaki (Ranma and Akane were due to pick up some that very evening). Besides, being a friend of Ranma, it just seemed more likely that he would trust her, though on the other hand Ranma was a sucker as long as it involved food. Akane, for one, definitely showed more trust towards Ukyou than the other two girls. _

_The afternoon passed, and the sun was just beginning to set when Ranma and Akane strode into Ukyou's shop, calling out a cheerful greeting. Shampoo and Kodachi, peering down silently from the top of the stairs, noted that the two were carrying some grocery bags. Apparently, they had been out running errands, probably for Kasumi._

'_Ooh! Forcing my Ranma-sama to partake in the mundane chores of a commoner!' was Kodachi's immediate reaction._

_Shampoo, however, was bitterer. In her village, the males always did the chores for the females out of sheer admiration and respect. In couples, however, the male would follow the female in a show of love and loyalty. Her fingers tightened into a small fist. She… she never got such attention from Ranma. Actually she never even got such attention before. In her village, Mousse's sheer exuberance for her had very well scared away other potential suitors, yet he was always too blind to follow her on errands. The last time he tried, he had ended up tailing after a wild boar and showering it with endearments, before crashing into a ditch. _

_Oh, jealousy was an ugly thing._

"_Ranchan! I've got a new okonomiyaki to sell. Want to be my tester?" Ukyou's voice floated up the stairs from the counter, falsely cheerful._

"_I dunno… Kasumi's cooked already, ya know…" he replied, but it was obvious greed was creeping stealthily into his voice. Akane gave an exasperated sigh and slapped him lightly on the arm._

"_You might as well go ahead and eat it, Ranma," she spoke. "When it comes to food, your stomach is bottomless." Ukyou gave a nervous chuckle then, earning her a strange look from the pair. _

"_Well, here it is then!" the brunette announced, pulling out a still hot okonomiyaki from under the counter. She passed it over to Ranma, crossing her fingers behind her back. Somehow, he didn't seem to notice the odd pale pink powder scattered liberally over the food. Ranma thanked her happily, and without another word, began to tuck in._

_Ukyou sucked in a deep breath. This better work… she had seen how Ranma and Akane had grown closer in the past few months, ever since the wrecked wedding. She would do nearly anything, **anything**, to get Ranma's attentions away from Akane. Of course, it would be a bonus if they were focused on her instead…_

_She wasn't really a mean person. She just liked Ranma a lot. A lot indeed. She watched as he swallowed. Watched for some unearthly spark in his eyes that would signal the start of the aphrodisiac's effects. Or maybe a sudden dulling of his senses. Or something like that. Yet Ranma seemed to be unaffected. In fact, he actually turned and **smiled** at Akane like nothing was wrong, and asked her if she wanted to try it, saying it tasted pretty darn good. _

_Ukyou's breath caught. In a moment of panic, she forgot her promise to leave the calling of Ranma's name up to Shampoo and Kodachi. Hands stretching out half in desperation, Ukyou grabbed Ranma. "Ranchan!" she yelled._

_And everything happened all at once._

"_That not his name! That his nickname!" Shampoo had shrieked immediately, horrified. She rushed forward then, clutching the antidote in one hand and hoping to undo any damage. The aphrodisiac she had stolen from Cologne's stores was potent, **very **much potent, but worse, it was terribly unsteady. Any breaking of the rules could result in disastrous effects, and this was something she had not told the rest for fear of them chickening out. That she would use it without her grandmother's guidance showed how desperate she was…but in any case, before she could even reach Ranma, Kodachi had already taken a flying leap forward, waving a leather bag._

"_Ranma-sama!" she shrieked suddenly, flinging the bag's contents all over the young man. Shampoo froze, watching as a shiny sooty-black dust landed on Ranma. He started coughing violently, loud hacking coughs that sent fear spiraling down into the center of the Chinese Amazon. As though on cue, Ranma toppled over from the chair, collapsing on the ground and still coughing. Yet now, the effects appeared to have extended to beyond coughing, and he was clawing wildly at his skin and clothes._

"_Ranma!" she heard Akane cry out in horror. The dark-haired girl fell to her knees. "Ranma, what's wrong?" Ukyou appeared right beside him, eyes wide with fear._

"_Shampoo!" she called out, her voice quaking. "What's wrong with Ranchan?" Only Kodachi stood at the side, eyes wide and unblinking._

"_I brought the wrong drug…" Kodachi muttered suddenly. "I took the wrong drug."_

_Shampoo shook violently. She didn't know what was happening to Ranma, and she didn't like feeling that way. She did know, however, that Cologne had warned her that if the aphrodisiac was mixed with other drugs, some combinations had been known to cause death and blindness. _

_But she said nothing, frightened of her own thoughts. _

_Akane reached out then, lightly shaking Ranma. To their horror, Ranma shied away, screaming. "Get away!" he yelled, and Shampoo flinched at the wild hoarse quality of his voice. "It hurts!"_

_Akane raised frightened and accusing eyes to Shampoo. "What's going on?" she shot. "What did you do to him?"_

"_Shampoo don't know what happening now," the purple-haired girl said truthfully. "Bring Ranma to Hiba-chan?"_

"_I guess, but he wont even let himself be touched, how are we going to move him there?" Akane shot back, and Shampoo wished she didn't have to see the worry and fear etched clearly on the other girl's face._

_Unfortunately, Ukyou didn't seem to hear this. Reaching out to Ranma, she shook him. "Ranchan, snap out of it!" the young woman cried. Instead of responding, he leapt up abruptly, screaming what sounded very much like a war cry. Shampoo's head snapped towards them._

"_Stop Ranma!" she yelled, watching as he made a fierce rush for the exit._

_-_

Akane watched, somewhat detachedly, as Ranma raised a fist.

Was he actually going to hit her? She wouldn't be afraid if he wanted to. She would let him, in fact. At least it proved he still cared for something.

But he didn't hit her. He just pulled his fist back and sent it crashing into a wall.

-

_Ranma pulled his fist back and sent it crashing savagely into Konatsu who had leapt in front of him, intending to block him. With a groan, Konatsu all but flew out the okonomiyaki shop, leaving the girls to stare in shock as Ranma took off.  
Ukyou ran after her injured assistant, and Kodachi still stood in a corner, stunned into silence for the first time. Akane had taken off after Ranma, but there was no way she would be able to catch up to him. Even if she did, she couldn't stop him, could she?_

_Shampoo shut her eyes and murmured a fervent prayer for strength and good luck. Picking up a glass of cold water on the counter, she overturned it onto herself, effectively reverting to her cursed form and in the process, increasing her speed. Kodachi recoiled at the sight of her transformation, muttering about curses and wizardry._

_Shampoo hissed. Stupid crazy girl. Bounding out the door, she chased after Ranma._

_When she found him, she hadn't the foggiest idea of what she would do. Originally, the idea was to steer and trap Ranma into the Nekohanten, where hopefully Cologne might be able to do something, but now they were so far away she seriously doubted they could get there. So she did the first thing that popped into her mind._

_She leapt onto him, and clung on._

_In retrospect, that was possibly one of the stupidest things Shampoo had ever done. It all but screamed at her senses, and went against everything she had been taught back in her village about thinking clearly before she acted. But there was only so much a girl could take before she became desperate, and Shampoo had very well reached her limits._

_He fought her, of course, so strongly that she half-feared she would be flung off into the distance. This was not good, Shampoo thought, for once frightened._

_His yells and screams for her to get away seemed to vibrate through her, and Shampoo mewed pitifully, gripping tightly onto his shirt. It seemed to last forever, and she was willing to bet she must have held on for at least five minutes. Abruptly, Ranma gave a frightening shudder, and his yells, once human sounding, seemed to blend and disintegrate into something more… primal. More… feline.  
'Aiyah. Is not good.' Were her only thoughts before she was forcibly ripped from Neko-Ranma and flung into some fence. Ranma hissed threateningly, baring his teeth. Without a backward glance, he bounded off, leaving Shampoo lying haplessly._

_Aiyah, the girl-turned-cat thought dismally. What Shampoo done?_

-

Akane hardly flinched when splinters of wood speckled down lightly on her. She, however, did flinch when Ranma withdrew his fist and turned away wordlessly, stalking off towards the door.

"I cannot believe you killed an innocent child," he spoke suddenly as he passed through the exit. Akane looked down, watching the floor blur through fresh tears. Damn it. Didn't she ever stop crying?

"You disappoint me, Akane." His tone was soft, dangerous even, but unmistakably pained.

This time she did feel her tears spilling over her cheeks even before he disappeared towards the house.

-

_Akane stumbled towards her house, her eyes red from crying and her face raw from scrubbing. Yet, she still hadn't found Ranma, and in his state, who knew what kind of trouble he could get into. As she neared, she heard a distrustful meow that stopped her right in her tracks._

_She ran forward, suddenly afraid of being too hopeful. "Ranma?" she called out haltingly._

_Then she saw him. Unable to help it, Akane sank to her knees, eyes widened at the numerous scratches on her face and arms. Her clothes were torn, and Akane faintly make out specks of dried blood. She held out her hand to the now female Ranma, yet she shied away suspiciously, sending Akane's mood spiraling down the drain._

_She used to be the only one he would trust when he entered the Nekoken, yet now he feared her just as much as he did the rest. It hurt, for some inexplicable reason, and Akane's eyes grew unusually bright suddenly. Holding out her arms, she stared pleadingly at Ranma, who merely looked back in a mix of curiosity and wariness._

"_Ranma," she forced out softly, hearing her voice break. "Oh Ranma, what have they done to you?"_

-

Nope, you still know nothing about Yasuo. But you will sooooon! –sniggers- Review! (:


	7. Memory Lane: Part 2

A/N: I AM ALIVE. MUAHAHA.

**Mellow  
****Chapter 6**

It was with great effort that Akane managed to get Ranma to follow her into the house. Kasumi had come out to welcome them, but for once, she had been so shocked at the sight of a bloody hissing Ranma that she had taken a slight step back unconsciously. "Oh dear," the oldest Tendou sister murmured. "Has something bad happened, Akane-chan?"

Akane looked up guiltily at Kasumi. "I'll explain," she said. "Could you get some hot water, Kasumi-nee-chan?" Watching as her sister returned to the kitchen urgently, Akane turned back to the redhead. "Come on Ranma…" she all but cooed pleadingly. "Come on… let's get up upstairs." To her surprise and relief, she followed her suspiciously, and before long, Akane had gotten Ranma into her room and shut the door.

There was a soft knock, and Kasumi poked her head inside. Glancing worriedly at Ranma, she passed Akane a kettle of warm water. "I'll be outside if you need me, Akane," she said, and Akane smiled slightly in gratitude. Once the door shut, she turned her attention to Ranma, who was now backed into a corner and hissing in a rather dangerous way.

She had one chance to do this… If she could get Ranma to calm down enough to pour the hot water on her, then hopefully she would snap out of the Nekoken. Should all else fail…She hoped her aim was good then.

Inching close, Akane held up the kettle. Ranma stared hard at the object. Taking a deep breath, she waited until she was just close enough to Ranma before she tipped the kettle and hot water came flowing over. Ranma gave a yelp, and Akane only watched in a mix of fascination and hope as the change took effect. Thankfully, her fiancé stopping hissing and snapped right out of the Nekoken as Akane hoped.

"Ranma?" she asked, almost afraid. "You okay?"

He didn't answer. His senses were on fire; everything seemed to have intensified drastically. He could recognize the place as Akane's room, but for the love of himself, Ranma had no idea what happened before this. There were vague memories bubbling up now… something about Ukyou and Shampoo and Kodachi? Yeah… yeah that was right. They'd been screaming like hell, and tossing weird powders around. He winced. That had been hell back in Ucchan's. He didn't know what they did, but he remembered the most intense feeling of agony all over himself. It was like his skin was trying to tear right off him, and damn, had that been painful. Everything had been a blur, but he had been confronted with a terrifying fear… and he had escaped, he knew. What happened after that, however, was pretty much a blur…

Ranma glanced down at himself. His skin wasn't burning anymore, but still his senses seemed out of whack. Everything was wrong: the colors of the room seemed to be leaping out at him fiercely and instinctively Ranma shrank back. Why were they so… loud? From the glaring harsh yellow of the walls to the cloying pink of the bed sheets… he shuddered. He was sure they had been muted before. Had Kasumi given the room a makeover or something? He could hear the clock ticking away, but with every tick the sound seem to smash into him brutally. Even when he breathed in, Akane's personal scent rushed in headily. Normally he liked it, but right now it was like having to stick his nose into a perfume bottle and inhale sharply.

"Ranma?" he heard Akane say, and the sound seemed to vibrate through him. He shrank back even more; this was giving him a really bad headache. But he wasn't prepared when Akane reached out to touch him lightly on the shoulder.

He could feel every stand of fabric of his shirt rubbing painfully against his bare skin, and it hurt. But what was worse was the sudden spurt of unexplained fear that shot up at the contact.

"Get away!" he yelled, or at least, he thought he yelled. But the sound that tore from his lips didn't sound anything like his voice at all. She shrank back, wide-eyed and silent.

There was a long awkward pause. He pushed himself against the wall and let his head droop, shutting his eyes tightly to stop himself from seeing the harsh sight before. It was a while before he realized that the ragged breathing he had been hearing for the past five minutes came from him. Cautiously, he opened his eyes.

That was better, he thought. The effects had been subdued slightly, enough for him to look without squinting now.

"Ranma?" Akane whispered warily. He looked at her. She was pale and looked on the verge of tears, her fingers gripped tightly around the hem of her shirt. With a gentle pat on the edge of her bed, she gestured to him. "Why don't you get some rest? I'll be back soon."

She didn't wait for him to answer. Instead, her eyes seemed to harden with determination instantly and she crawled to her feet, fixing a steely, almost angry stare on the walls before her. She paused only to give him the most comforting smile she could muster, which unfortunately was not much, then as quietly as she could, walked out of the door.

The door shut softly, but all the same Ranma flinched slightly at the sound.

He breathed. The clock ticked. Everything was still harshly glaring, but…

Carefully, almost guardedly, Ranma climbed up the bed, only vaguely aware of the murkiness that was fast overtaking his consciousness.

So tired.

He laid his head down and shut his eyes.

The smell of Akane was unbelievably strong, but unlike just now, he found it a little more comforting now.

-

"What did you do to him?!"

Cologne looked up warily, sighing as her customers started violently from the shock. It was the Akane girl in the doorway, her eyes red and her chest heaving. Hopping past on her stick, she beckoned Akane to follow her, all the while smiling patronizingly at her customers. "Free drink on the house!" she announced, and at the excited murmuring the smile grew a little strained.

"Come, child," she muttered to Akane. The girl drew in a deep shuddering breath and followed her to one of the back rooms. _Ay, what has happened now?_ She wondered. Shampoo had come back fifteen minutes ago, frighteningly pale and bruised. She had said nothing, only disappearing into her room and Cologne had heard the telltale 'click' of the lock as soon as the door shut shakily.

Once Akane was in the room, Cologne shut the door and turned to her. "Now, what is this you speak of, Akane?" she questioned sharply.

"Don't play games, Cologne." The girl was furious, her eyes blazing. "What did Shampoo and the others do to Ranma? Tell me! Why did they try to drug him?"

Cologne stared, confused. "Akane, I know nothing of this thing you speak of…"

But she was on a roll now, and Akane pushed on stubbornly. "They were there, flinging powders on him… calling his name… maybe the okonomiyaki was just a distraction, maybe it was drugged too! It had pink powder, why would it have pink powder on it…" her eyes were wet now, her voice was hysterical, and she waved her hands about madly. "And now… now Ranma doesn't trust anyone! Not even me!"

Cologne had frozen. At last she spoke, her voice strange and clipped. "Where is son-in-law now?"

Akane sniffed, rubbing at her arms. "In… in my room," she answered.

Cologne turned away. "Go home, Akane," she spoke quietly. "I have some things to ask Shampoo. We will come along your house presently."

Akane nodded, wanting to have something to believe in for now. She turned to go.

"Akane!"

She turned slightly. "Yes?"

Cologne's eyes were warning. "Keep Ranma with you at all times."

-

Since then, they hadn't seen Shampoo around very much. Cologne did come back, looking awfully old all of a sudden. She said the best thing to do was to wait it out until the effects wore off, that was, if they would wear off. Akane was hopeful; Ranma seemed less jumpy now, though he still shrank away from human touch and had even gone to the point of insisting the clock be taken away.

She was at his side all the time. Even when night fell, she wanted to be by Ranma when he slept. That wasn't a difficult thing, since Ranma refused to be moved from the room. Since obviously she couldn't crawl into bed with him, so she settled for the next best thing instead.

She slept on the floor that night.

Perhaps that helped, because the next day he agreed to leave the room, but only if Akane came along. So she stood waiting while he used the bathroom, and she was still there waiting when he came out after his shower. He still wouldn't let her touch him, or anything touch him for that matter, and she had to talk softly around him, but she was heartened.

He was like a jumpy cat. Any sudden movements and he would bolt.

The few days after he had been drugged, everything seemed sort of surreal. They hadn't heard from the rest, and Ranma was slowly, but surely, regaining his senses.

Then the trouble started.

-

It started with Kunou.

Apparently Kodachi's distress could not be contained, and she spilled everything out to Kunou, including the parts about how Ranma was really the 'vile pigtailed girl'.

Of course, Kunou had waved his bokken around and ranted about wizardry and sorcery. Then he had jumped up with a scary glint in his eyes and proclaimed, "Now that the vile Saotome is weak and injured, I, Kunou Tatewaki, will free the fiery pigtailed girl and the beauteous Tendou Akane from the clutches of he!"

Kodachi had turned quite hysterical at that, it seemed. She had shrieked and yelled and pleaded, screeching for Kunou not to go near Ranma. Her brother had been almost surprised, but he went anyway.

So it was on a quiet morning that the front door flew open with a loud boom and Kunou stalked in, waving his bokken. "Prepare yourself, Saotome!" he yelled. "I shall smite thee!" Ranma and Akane, sitting in the living room, had jumped up at the noise, with Ranma looking quite disturbed. Kunou seemed to be entirely oblivious to Akane's yell of anger, because he rushed forward and swung the bokken at Ranma. "Smite!" he bellowed with each swing. "Smite! Smite!"

"Kunou!" Akane shrieked, rushing to Ranma, who had dodged each blow but had the strangest expression on his face. For a moment there, she felt fear creep up on her, and Ranma fixated a dark look on Kunou. "Stop it!"

Kunou stopped. "Oh fair Akane!" he murmured, pulling her into a passionate embrace and ignoring her heated struggle. "Fear not, for I, Kunou Tatewaki shall emerge victorious and--"

"_Get the hell away from her!_"

It happened so fast; she had no time to yell out. One moment Kunou was rambling, next moment he had sprawled on the floor, blood dribbling from his nose as he slumped, unconscious. Akane turned her gaze to Ranma, who was panting and trembling from the exertion for the punch. He looked up then, and she shrank back, frightened of the possessiveness and raw rage burning in those eyes.

"Ranma…?" she asked.

He glared at Kunou's limp form and stalked away.

She was left staring after him. Unconsciously, she began to shake. Here she was, thinking that he was about to heal…

The drugs hadn't just messed up his senses. They had messed up his head too.

-

Still, she grew closer and closer to Ranma in those two weeks. She was there when he cowered in a moment of weakness, horrified of the sounds and colors. She was there when he hissed and raged when the others tried to make advances on him. She was there in the nights, in the days. She was always there.

She wanted to be there.

In the second week, he seemed to calm. His physical senses were more or less back to normal now, she could even yell at him or smack him on the head. On the emotional side, though… the others, less wary now, began to make their way back to his life, eventually the cycle was restored.

Find Ranma. Demand something of Ranma. Chase Ranma. And then it repeated all over again.

On hindsight, Akane thought, perhaps that was the reason why Ranma never seemed to make any progress on his emotional state. Every time he tried to, something new happened.

Ukyou was back to delivering okonomiyaki and sneaking time in with her Ran-chan. She was more cautious, quieter, but it was the same. Kodachi tried to deliver a huge French dinner, but obviously it would be drugged, so no one bothered to eat it. It was, maybe, a show of her guilt. She spoke nothing of the gender-changing issue, or of the drug she had scattered on Ranma. It was as though she had forgotten about it.

Shampoo did not come close to Ranma, however. Mousse was happy, of course, although he knew he should not have been. Kunou was wary for a few days or so, before he went right back to his raving of the vile cheater Saotome ("How dare he sneak an attack with I, Kunou Tatewaki, was attending to the delicate needs of the fair Tendou Akane?"), but even then, he seemed more subdued, more cautious.

Akane tried to keep them back. But this was Nerima. Keeping them back was just about as likely as Happousai running off to be a monk.

Still, she tried.

-

It was on a Thursday night that while Akane was preparing for bed that Ranma looked down at her from atop what used to be her bed. She was by the bed; on a futon that Kasumi had given her (ironically, it was the futon that Ranma used to sleep in).

"Akane."

She looked up. "What?"

He seemed almost hesitant. "Do you…you want your bed back?"

She stood up and pondered about this. "Kind of…" she admitted. "I do miss it--"

She had gotten no further before Ranma's hand shot out suddenly and grabbed hers. With one fluid motion, he pulled, and she fell, right atop of him.

Akane froze.

Slowly, hesitantly, she placed the palms of her hands on the bed and pushed herself up as well as she could, pulling her flushed face out of the crook of Ranma's neck. She didn't go very far, only to the point where she could look down and see Ranma's expression.

What she saw in his face… she could never describe.

It was as though every single emotion in him had been dug up and pushed to the surface, displaying it all for her to see, like the time he had punched Kunou. She saw everything; possessiveness, want, longing.

And something else.

"Ranma," she whispered, eyes wide. Warm breath fanned on her face as he breathed out beneath her.

She didn't resist when he pulled her down to press his lips to hers. Just like that, her eyes fell shut and she was lost.

And, she reflected, so was he.

-

Morning came. When she finally opened her eyes, Ranma was already awake, staring down at her.

"Hey," he said quietly.

She pressed her face into his bare neck. "Good morning," she returned, her voice muffled.

He grinned lazily.

-

Inhibitions?

What inhibitions?

After all that happened since the start of their relationship, there simply wasn't any more space for inhibitions.

Akane realized that, after a while.

So did Ranma.

-

"Let's have a wedding!" Soun proclaimed proudly.

Akane sat up stiffly. "What?" she threw at her father.

"We noticed you two have been getting closer--" Genma started.

"—So we thought--" Soun continued excitedly.

"—Time for a wedding--" Genma cut in.

"—Yes! A wedding!" Soun finished, rubbing his hands.

Akane glanced furtively at Ranma, but he seemed to be thinking hard. Did Ranma… "When do you want the wedding?" she asked.

Genma and Soun looked at each other. "Sunday!" they announced.

Ranma reeled then. "It's Friday today!" he yelled.

Genma nodded solemnly. "All the faster."

Ranma seemed to be speechless. Suddenly he grabbed Akane's arm and pulled her from the room. Ignoring their fathers' protests, he slammed the door shut and turned to Akane.

"Ranma…" she started, feeling uncomfortably hot all of a sudden. "Do you want a wedding?"

He looked at her, and Akane's heart squeezed. It was happening again. It was as though she could see every emotion Ranma was feeling, see every though running through him mind as his face spelt it out clearly for the world. Ranma used to be so shy. It was as though his feelings had been… magnified.

It was scary.

"Even if I wanted a wedding, Akane," he told her seriously. "I want it to be one that we plan. Not one that our dads plan."

She took his hand, and smiled. "Okay." With one fast movement, she tilted her head and kissed him, just for the sheer fun of it.

He looked surprised. But he grinned.

-

Word spread fast. Even though they told their fathers not to go ahead with the wedding, apparently, they decided to go qahead with the planning anyway, except to push it to the _next_ Sunday instead. Somehow the message that was being spread around Nerima was "WEDDING! THEY'RE HAVING A WEDDING TODAY!" And because rumors tend to get distorted… it soon became 'Ranma plans to sneak Akane away in the night and bed her' or 'Akane knocked Ranma out with her cooking and plans to force him to commit to marriage', depending of whichever you wanted.

And the trouble came.

Sunday morning was calm… until Akane was rudely awakened by a loud crash. Jumping to her feet blearily, she stared out of the window automatically before blinking awake fully. With a heave, she flung open the window and stared out in shock.

"Ryouga! Ranma!" she yelled, voice rusty. "What the heck are you two doing?"

Ryouga stared up at her in righteous fury. "Don't worry, Akane-san, I will avenge your honor…" his voice trailed off before his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and he returned to his battle furiously, face now a bright crimson red. "Die Ranma!"

Akane blinked and glanced down at herself. She colored slightly… trust Ryouga to get wrong ideas at the sight of her wearing a slightly-more-risqué-than-usual nightie (hey, Kasumi thought lace was nice! Besides all her nightclothes were in the wash. This was the last thing left in her drawer.). It didn't help that her bra strap had slipped off her shoulder and was now exposed to the world.

Akane flushed. Oops, maybe she shouldn't be standing at the window in her a slightly-more-risqué-than-usual nightie and showing off her bra strap with the bright blue flowers. Yanking the curtains shut, she dove for her wardrobe and began pulling out clothes.

Halfway through changing, the door slammed open and Shampoo bounded in, and boy, was she mad. Brandishing her bonboris lethally, the Amazon snarled. "Shampoo kill!"

Akane thought to scream in rage, but she decided to sigh first. This wasn't turning out to be a good day.

-

The house was in shambles.

In the course of a few hours, Ryouga had come and gone, demolishing half the yard in his fight. Then Shampoo and Ukyou appeared, angrily seeking a fight with Akane, who _would_ have taken them on if Ranma hadn't stepped in.

He had looked… dangerous. The girls had left, but not before reducing what used to be Akane's bedroom to a huge mess.

Mousse came. Ranma, at that point, seemed so angered by this constant fighting that he didn't even pretend to fight Mousse. He just watched Mousse start battle with a table lamp before he punched him viciously and watched him fly away over the rooftops.

Ranma was angry… and Akane couldn't help but feel worried. She wasn't the only one. They were all worried. Troubled by _something_ that was different.

Kunou was the last. He came, he raved, and he was beat up to a pulp. Ranma seemed to have decided to use him as a stress outlet.

Kodachi did not come. It troubled Akane even more.

The sun was setting when Kasumi saw Ranma leaving. "Ranma," she had asked. "Are you staying for dinner?"

He shook his head. He had a strange expression on his face. Kasumi let him go.

He did not come back for sleep that night. Akane tried waiting up for him, but she fell asleep. She knew her family was awake, each of them waiting up for the troubled young man in an effort to be the family he had always needed.

Since Ranma had come to live with them, he had all but become family. Family members wait for each other.

She didn't mean to fall asleep. Neither did Kasumi or Soun.

-

The fire occurred that night.

To this very day, Akane had no idea what really happened. All she knew was that in the middle of the night, the phone started ringing. A sleepy Kasumi answered the phone, only to find Genma rambling about fires and Nodoka and Ranma.

It was the first time she had seen real panic in the older man. Usually so complacent and uncaring and thoughtless, Genma was for once, truly, really frightened.

Ranma still had not returned to the Tendou Doujou.

They went straight to the hospital. Passing by the charred remains of Nodoka's home, even Soun was stunned into silence. There was police tape around the still smoking house; Akane saw policemen examining the burnt wreckage.

Nodoka was warded for severe smoke inhalation. She had been asleep when the fire started. But what was confusing was that Kunou, Kodachi and Ukyou were warded for second and third degree burns. Through bits and pieces the story started to pour in: Ukyou had wanted to go to Nodoka's house to look for Ranma. Seeing how he wasn't at Akane's, she had assumed he would seek his mother out. She had initially taken Ryouga along, but at some point, he got lost. Halfway there, she met Kodachi and somehow started an argument with her. They argued all the way to Nodoka's house over whom Ranma should marry.

Nodoka, as expected, was not pleased to find two squabbling girls on her doorsteps. But what worried her more was the fact that her son was missing. She and Genma had retired to bed early that night; she did not fancy being awakened by her son's fiancées.

"Ranma is not here," she had said politely but firmly. "You girls may wait for him to turn up, but I believe my son has no problems finding a place for the night. He did grow up on the road, after all."

Then she had gone to bed.

Kunou came to pick his sister up, something that he did not do willingly. That much was sorted out by Akane. The rest she did not understand.

She didn't get a chance to know more before Ranma showed up, face white and eyes dark.

The nurses had to physically restrain him as he tried to scream at Ukyou and Kodachi in their ward. Of all the people around Ranma… his mother was one of the people he was most protective of, whether he admitted it or not. It was not known how he had found out about the fire, or where he had been all night, he just stood there, tirelessly attacking them with his angered words.

"Did you set fire to my mother's house?" Akane recalled him yelling in what could only be described as pure unrestrained rage.

Ukyou was crying. "We didn't, Ran-chan, we didn't… we were just there waiting for you when it started…"

He drew in a deep breath, and his eyes burned. "The police suspect arson," he clipped out.

Ukyou cried harder.

"This is all your fault, you know," he started suddenly. "All of you people's faults."

The nurses had stopped trying to restrain him. He was simply too strong… but he didn't seem like he was going to physically attack them, so they settled for attempting to usher him out.

For a moment, Ranma looked like he wanted to crush something. Then he deflated. "Screw it."

He walked out of the room. No one tried to stop him.

He was walking out of the hospital when Akane called out to him. Why she called out, she had no idea. "Ranma!"

He stopped. He looked back at her. Then he walked on.

That was the last she ever saw of him.

-

What happened after that was simple. Once Cologne heard of the fire, she took Shampoo to see Nodoka to explain everything from the start. Needless to say, Nodoka was more than a little shaken, so much that she declared all engagements null and void.

The Amazons accepted and left.

Ukyou left too.

Kunou and Kodachi sobered up.

Akane moved away.

Life went on. But nothing could truly ever patch up the empty gaping hole in their lives.

-

Confused? Scratching your head and wondering why the hell Ranma is so damn _weird_ and exactly what made him that way? There is a reason for it… that you will hear of in the next chapter. Ha. Ha.

I've been trying to portray Ranma and Akane's relationship realistically should they grow much closer. Frankly I'm tired of fanfiction portraying Akane as a mallet-happy nut. Sure she is rather tomboyish and violent, but come on. Compared to the anime and manga, it's so exaggerated it's ridiculous. But I'll save my rants for another day… x/

Comments? Criticism? Just a note: the next update might take some time. School is torturous.


	8. Back on the Road

A/N: An update, FINALLY. Thank you for your patience!

**Mellow  
Chapter 7**

She lay, curled up in the bed. There were no more tears; they had dried in the heat of the room, forming shiny tear tracks on her cheeks. Her eyes were open, dull and unfocused, but she could hear every single tick of the clock on the wall, breathe in every single old scent from her bed. She lay, unmoving.

Her eyes drifted. They fell onto the dried roses on her wall, so brittle yet so pretty. She remembered: they were the ones Ranma had given her so long ago, during the entire Nabiki fiancée fiasco. When she moved out, she left them here, not wanting to bring more emotional baggage than what was necessary.

She smiled, sort of. Those were happy times, back when she received the roses.

Pained suddenly, she turned her head away, not bearing to stare at them any longer.

_It appears you are pregnant, Miss Tendou._

_What?_

_You're pregnant._

_I…_

Two months after she moved into the apartment all the way across Tokyo, it occurred to Akane that her period was late. She was always a little irregular but…

She was worried. It wouldn't happen, she said. It was her first time.

She bought a home pregnancy kit. It was positive. She bought another. It was positive too.

This was wrong, she remembered thinking, half in tears. So she saw a gynecologist.

It was positive.

…_It says here that you are currently single, Miss Tendou. The father…?_

…_We were due to get married, but he… we broke it off._

_I see. Then shall I arrange for an abortion?_

_I…_

She made a second appointment with the gynecologist. She was a woman in her thirties, old enough to have had enough experience with women caught in the lurch, and young enough not to know how to handle them in a gentle way. Perhaps she was merely being professional. Perhaps she just wasn't feeling up to dealing with yet another confused woman.

She said she would give her answer to the gynecologist when she returned on the second appointment. Then she went home, and thought about it for a while.

On the day of her appointment, she walked boldly in and took a seat. Staring at the woman straight in the eye, Akane locked her fingers and gave her answer.

"I will keep the baby."

_It appears you have a son, Miss Tendou._

A son. Her first thought was: would he look like Ranma? Then she shook her head. Maybe. But one thing was for sure. Her baby wouldn't have blue eyes like Ranma. She learnt it in school before; the gene for brown eyes was dominant over the gene for blue eyes.

Akane had brown eyes.

She would have liked to see Ranma's eyes though.

She squashed that thought.

_Have you thought of a name for the baby, Miss Tendou?_

…_I was thinking of the name 'Yasuo'. _

_That's nice._

Yasuo meant 'peaceful one'. Akane wanted her son to have the peace that Ranma and her didn't get.

Strange, wasn't it? The child of a man named 'wild horse' and a woman with the color red in her name, named 'peaceful one'.

_The baby seems to be coming along well. Did you contact the father?_

…_No. _

Even if she wanted to tell Ranma, she didn't think he would want to know. After all, if he did, he wouldn't have abandoned her in the first place, would he?

_Well, perhaps the pregnancy has proved helpful to your health. You seem happier now, Miss Tendou._

_Thank you._

So she was happier. There was something to think about now, something to laugh over, something to work on. She was focused; she didn't have to mope anymore. Her new friends marveled at her change, her neighbors chuckled and gave her friendly advice; even the cashier at the grocery store told her she looked 'radiant', in his words. She began calling her baby 'Yasuo', and somehow, that made him more real.

He became a _person_. He wasn't an unborn fetus. He was her future son, her baby conceived in a surge of strong emotions. Yasuo was her love child.

Perhaps that was why it hurt so much when the miscarriage happened.

—

Akane couldn't remember much about the accident. She was crossing the road; she swore the lights were green, when she looked up and saw a car braking madly. Then she was bleeding, bleeding and bleeding, and people were talking to her, asking her for her name.

"Akane," she remembered saying vaguely. There was no pain. The sky seemed awfully bright. "Tendou Akane."

Then: "My baby!"

Someone gripped her hand tightly. A female voice, calm and reassuring. "It's going to be all right, dear."

She didn't hear anything else. She didn't _remember_ anything else.

When she woke, she saw her gynecologist at the end of her bed, staring intently at a notepad. Akane must have made a sound of some sort, because the woman looked at her with such a pitiful look that she stiffened, terrified.

_Yasuo?_

"You lost the baby, Miss Tendou," she said gravely. She went on, talking about how Akane was mostly all right, just a few days in the hospital and she would be fine, really, perhaps you would like to see our counselor at the hospital, they are trained to help people out of difficult times…

She heard nothing but the roar of blood in her ears.

—

In the darkness, Akane sat up. Carefully, she lifted the hem of her shirt, pulling it up until the pale white skin of her stomach was exposed. In the darkness, the scar looked almost unreal, like something that was there but wasn't. With one hand, she traced the faint scar lightly.

She had gone into shock, they said. They tried to do a caesarean on her to save the baby…

But it was too late.

She touched the scar. She had cried so long after that. And Ranma thought she was cruel and evil and…

Akane felt a surge of something then. She wasn't cruel! She tried to save him, she did, she really did, but they said it was too late, but she did try to save him, she wanted him to be saved, he was her baby—

Her eyes were growing hot and wet already.

Frantically Akane pushed herself off the bed and leapt down. Yanking the door open, she all but stumbled out blindly into the dark corridor. She had to, she had to…

She reached out for Ranma's door. She pushed. It was locked. Her eyes darted around. The keys! Kasumi kept the spare keys down in the kitchen. Drawing in a deep breath, the panicked young woman spun around on her heel and made a dash down the stairs. She must have stumbled a few times; by the time she was scrambling up the stairs once more, parts of her bare feet stung.

She tasted saltiness. Was she crying? She was doing a lot of that lately. Her eyes must be permanently red and swollen now.

Akane stuck the first key into the keyhole. It wouldn't fit. She pushed the second one in. That wouldn't fit too. Desperate now, she shoved the third one, but somehow it kept missing the keyhole…

It was in the middle of fumbling at the door that there was a sudden click and the door slid open. Akane looked up, eyes wide, as Ranma stared down, looking faintly surprised.

He barely had time to step back before she rushed into him, babbling and sobbing.

She couldn't stop. She couldn't stop.

"Akane." His voice was even and calm, as though he was used to such hysterics from people. She didn't respond. He didn't know, he didn't know…!

"Akane," he repeated, this time with a bit of concern, though his voice remained more or less flat. He reached out to her shoulders and shook her a little. "Akane."

"I didn't… I didn't…" she was mumbling, her voice rising with each syllable. He gripped her tighter and pushed her away, enough for him to see her face. In the darkness, Akane sucked in a deep frightened breath. She was terrified, and she didn't know why. Everything was just smashing into her with such intense velocity that she had in effect become a babbling nervous wreck: everything from Ranma's departure to Nodoka's anger to her own horrible tangled knot of feelings to the pregnancy and the miscarriage, and the blood, oh the blood and Soun's burial and…

And the feeling that she was going to be left dangling, unable to go up, unable to go down.

_Ranma. Help me._

"Akane!" his voice was sharp now, sharp and commanding, but somewhat anxious. Her head snapped up, she gasped in. Abruptly she stilled, her breaths coming in fast and unsteady as she let her head fall forward to rest limply on his collarbone. She felt hands, large and awkward, supporting her.

"Ranma…" her voice was so soft, Akane felt her vision blurring. She squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm sorry."

He stiffened. She ignored it.

"I lied to you," she admitted. It pressed on her; she was frightened. Then: "I'm sorry."

Ranma was silent. When he spoke, she felt his chest rumbling. "Then what happened?"

She let her eyes stay shut. "I had a miscarriage. There was a car accident."

Simple words, yet they held so much they the moment Akane forced them out, she felt tremendous pressure ease off her, followed by the distinct impression that she had thrown her load down a cliff and now she was staring down the cliff. She pushed away lightly, turning searching eyes to Ranma's face. He looked so blank; she wondered if he had heard her.

"It wasn't your fault," she said suddenly. The words, once locked up so tightly inside her, were now pouring out with such enthusiasm that she wondered if she had finally gone mad. It was like the dam had been brutally smashed open and now water was gushing out and nothing could stop it. "It wasn't your fault, Ranma, I'm sorry. All those things I said… I'm sorry, I'm really sorry-"

He looked down then, and she saw a strange expression in his eyes. Slowly, he touched her lips with one finger, halting her speech immediately.

It took a long time, but he swallowed and said, "I'm sorry."

Then she was crying, all over again. She was throwing her arms around him, holding him tightly, sobbing and shaking with the onslaught of it all. He stiffened, but then the next moment he was crushing her close, his chest heaving oddly.

Akane stopped, blinking back furiously. "Ranma, are you…" _Are you crying?_

He seemed to have caught on, because he snorted indignantly. "Of course not!" he barked defensively, and it seemed for a moment this was the Ranma Akane had known when she was much younger. She giggled, unable to help it, and before she knew it, she was reaching up to touch the corner of his eyes like she did so long ago.

She touched the finger to her lips, and then smirked up at him in the darkness. "Salty," she observed.

He might have blushed. She couldn't see. Instead, he pulled her in and touched the top of her head with his chin lightly. "Whatever," he muttered, and she felt that very same rumble from his chest. Sighing suddenly, she pressed her face into him and tightened her grip. She didn't know if she should be laughing or crying. She didn't even know what she should be doing. After all, how many people carefully planned out their reunion with the ex-fiancé, who impregnated then abandoned them, in a positive way?

He decided it for her then. In one quick movement, his fingers pushed her chin up deftly and he lowered his head to hers.

She closed her eyes. Greedy. Wanting.

Needing.

—

It wasn't Ranma's fault. Akane came to that conclusion when she awoke and found out that dawn had come a long time ago. Ranma was still asleep, judging by the steady slow movements of his chest. she tried to sit up, but found that Ranma had effectively tangled his arms around her.

She smiled briefly. Oh yes, Ranma was always one for possessiveness. "Touch her and die!" she remembered him saying angrily, and that had been barely a few months into their engagement. Then there was his almost territorial attitude towards his food…

She had been so tired after that hell of an emotional roller coaster that she had just taken that she fell asleep right in his futon. She supposed he had decided to let her sleep there for the night. She was glad.

It wasn't his fault, something insisted stubbornly. She sighed to herself. Yes, it wasn't his fault.

All these years she tried to blame him, wanting to place blame on somebody, _anybody_. But what did Ranma ever do, anyway? He was disorientated, angry and hurt. The powder has obviously messed up his senses. Of course he had reacted the way he did.

It wasn't her fault either. All she did was try to deal with such a strange situation.

Maybe it was Kodachi's fault. Or Shampoo. Or even Ukyou. Akane shook her head mentally. She had seen their faces, so pale and so sad that she knew if they _were_ at fault, they had already received more than what they deserved as punishment. Even Kodachi, brash delusional Kodachi who had been the start of the whole business, had been wide-eyed and silent for days after.

If there had to be someone at fault, then perhaps they all shared a little bit of it.

Ranma stirred. She watched, mildly amused, as Ranma blinked awake at her. "Hey," he said quietly, like what he said so long ago.

Akane smiled a wobbly smile. "Good morning," she answered.

He smiled, and absent-mindedly threaded his fingers through her dark hair. She laughed, for the sheer fun of it.

_The hurt was over. This was where the healing began._

—

Nabiki walked down the stairs. Then she stopped.

Well, this was an interesting turn in the situation. Despite herself, she allowed a tiny satisfied smile to form. Raising one perfectly manicured hand in greeting, she nodded to everyone at the table and took a seat.

"Good morning, Nabiki-chan," Kasumi greeted. She spared a careful look at her sister. The older woman seemed rather drawn, but she looked much better now. She glanced at the food; it looked normal. It appeared Kasumi had regained some resemblance of normality to return to her chores.

Nabiki took her seat, before turning her gaze to what really caught her attention. She was discreet, of course. Nabiki loved all things discreet.

She observed.

What was so interesting, one might ask. Well, nothing really, unless you consider the fact that Ranma and Akane were seated next to each other, and willingly too as it seemed. She felt growing amusement as she watched Akane dropped her chopstick accidentally and Ranma pick it up for her. The younger woman turned a pensive gaze to the utensil, before accepting it with a faint smile.

Nabiki started to eat. By then, her grin was positively cat-like. "It's a good day, isn't it?" she remarked suddenly, watching with lidded eyes.

Akane seemed momentarily confused, but Ranma caught on. To Nabiki's pleasant surprise, he gave her a smirk, something so remarkably boyish and playful that she could not help feel the atmosphere lighten instantly.

Ranma hadn't had that expression in years.

Akane smiled suddenly.

Nabiki picked up a piece of food easily. "Let's get down to the important stuff, shall we?" she began pleasantly.

Kasumi raised her hand demurely. "No serious discussions at the table, please," she laid down simply.

Akane finished her food. "I'll be at the koi pond," she told them with a brief smile. It seemed resigned, but oddly hopeful. As expected, Ranma followed her in the next few minutes.

Nabiki continued eating slowly. Turning to Kasumi and Tofu, she began a conversation about the freshness of the fish.

—

"Tea?" Kasumi interrupted politely.

Akane nodded, extending her teacup to her sister.

It was almost unnoticeable, but everyone in the porch knew that Akane was holding Ranma's hand with such intensity it was almost frightening. It pained her to dig up all this, but they needed to do this… and she wasn't going to back out.

Ranma, for his part, had no particular strong expression. Heck, he seemed relaxed. Only his grip on her hand showed otherwise.

Nabiki let the silence sink in. Nearly two hours had passed since they sat down to talk, a unanimous decision by everyone in the house. It was as though it was only natural to sort out old misunderstandings and troubles once it became clear that _something _had happened between Ranma and Akane.

She stared into her teacup. Finally, this whole mess was coming to a close.

It began simply enough. Nabiki had started by telling everyone how, a few months after Ranma simply disappeared, she received an email while she was in college.

_Tendou Nabiki,  
__Will send money over to cover expenses at Tendou Doujou. Thank you for supporting my father and I.  
__-Saotome Ranma_

She had taken a mere five minutes to reply.

_Saotome,  
__We don't want your fucking money. We're not charity. We want an explanation. Do you even know what you did to Akane? Or perhaps you don't care.  
__-Tendou N._

He replied.

_Nabiki,  
__And I am not someone to be tossed around. Akane will live without me… she is strong. You'll get the money soon.  
__-Ranma_

She had laughed in sheer irony when she read that.

_Oh yes, Saotome. I'll be sure to tell that to the shrink the next time she has an appointment for depression. I'm not that heartless to accept money from someone who has hurt my family. Send the money over and I'll burn it.  
__-Tendou N._

He didn't reply after that. The money did come: it went into her bank account. She left it there, not bothering to use it.

"It's still there, you know," she remarked to Ranma. He didn't seem upset, merely snorting.

"Stubborn cow," he let out, but there was a smirk on his face.

In any case, she had saved his email address. One day, he came to her requesting a loan… one thing led to another, and soon she was keeping touch with him through email and providing updates on the rest of the people who used to live in Nerima. She did give him the loan, and on his part, he gave his word to repay her favor.

"Loan?" Kasumi asked. "What for?"

Ranma's face grew drawn for a moment. "Mum had a bad fall," he answered then.

Kasumi grew dismayed. "I'm sorry, Ranma-kun…" she apologized. "Is she…"

He gave her a smile, although he looked shadowed. "She's okay now."

Akane squeezed his hand.

—

According to Ranma, after he left he wandered around aimlessly training for a while before leaving for China. He had no idea why he left for China, but he thought that since he had no obligation to stay in Japan anymore, he could look for a cure.

And find a cure he did.

It was in the area around Jusenkyou that he found a small village. The people were so far from civilization that most of them had never heard of computers and televisions… even more outdated that the Amazons themselves. Sure they had heard of strange machines that could do unbelievable tasks, but they found it hard to believe.

It was in the small village that Ranma stopped to take a break and by pure luck, passed by the wooden house of a middle-aged woman and her family. Nothing unusual really, until it started raining. He remembered feeling the utmost irritation as he felt his joints shift oddly and his body tingle as he shrank into the body of a girl.

"Mama! Mama it's one of those Jusenkyou people! Is he gonna buy your water? Mama!"

Ranma turned around and stared at the child running into the house. Within a few minutes, a woman hurried out, eyes gleaming, as she looked the redhead over. Then, realizing that Ranma was getting soaked in the rain, she pulled her into the house hurriedly and rushed about getting tea.

"Hello!" she greeted exuberantly in accented, slightly broken Japanese as she pulled her strange dark green hair into a bun. "Welcome to my house! You Japanese, right?"

Ranma nodded, feeling a bit disorientated.

The woman tittered and pulled over some hot water from the fire. Briskly she dumped the container's contents over Ranma and she felt the change taking place without delay. Once the woman was satisfied that he had returned to his original form, she bowed and smiled, her son peeking out from between her legs. "I am Lu Shan," she introduced. "Lu Shan or Lotion."

He stared. Strange-colored hair, name resembling a product's… he let his eyes travel expertly over her stance. Martial Artist, he noted, seeing her muscles and the way she stood.

"Are you Amazon?" he asked bluntly without caring.

The woman's lips curved into a sad smile. "Very clever Japanese you are. I was once an Amazon… but the Amazon life does not suit me. Lotion believes there is more to life than lording over males and fighting." Her hands, rough with work, came to pat her son's head gently and she smiled down tenderly at the child. "I leave for family."

Abruptly her demeanour changed. Her head snapping towards Ranma with a bright smile, she nodded and began in a business tone. "Young man like to buy cure for curse of Nyannichuan? I have enough preserved Nannichuan from before I left tribe." She shook her head and clucked her tongue. "Now Nannichuan is flooded, is it not? This may be only hope."

He stared at her. "Are you serious? Is that really Nannichuan?'

She nodded. "Lotion lies not." The woman giggled then. "When Lotion was young, my older sister broke my doll. Lotion try turn Perfume into boy. But Grandmother found out and had to turn her back with Nyannichuan. But Lotion took too much of spring water, and now has a lot stored in my house." She gave a little sigh. "Perfume tells me that her son has been cursed with Jusenkyou and wanders as a duck. Lotion wishes to help the poor boy."

Ranma stiffened. "Mousse?"

"You know Mousse?" the woman exclaimed in delight, not noticing Ranma's slight grimace. "Ah, friend of my sister's son is a friend of mine!" Shoving a cup of hot tea into his hands, she busied herself with fetching a large container of water from the next room. "For you," Lotion said warmly, pushing it into his hands. "For Mousse's friend, free."

Mousse's… friend? He had wanted to laugh bitterly at that. Nemesis, more likely. Still, he wasn't one to refuse a cure that had just been shoved into his hands by a friendly ex-Amazon, so he accepted it with a word of thanks and prepared to use it.

"No, no!" Lotion protested. "Not in my house, please! Lotion does not want ants cursed with Nannichuan in my house! Son will be terrified!"

He smiled then, briefly. Obeying her, he stepped out of the house to empty the spring water all over himself.

The water was cold, but he remained a man.

He took a step out into the rain. He was a man.

For the first time in a long time, Ranma gave a small smile.

When the rain stopped, he bowed in thanks to the woman and left, promising to remember her kindness. She had laughed and shrugged it off, and stood in her doorway as she waved, cradling her toddler son in her arms.

—

"Well, you should write to thank Mousse for that," Nabiki commented.

"Maybe I should," Ranma answered lightly.

"Ranma…" Akane said suddenly. "The effects of the powder…"

He looked serious now. "I'm getting to that."

—

When Ranma was in China, he met a man who knew about magical powders and potions. Even though he couldn't pinpoint the exact powder used, he suspected that the combined effects of the two powders not only messed up Ranma's senses, but also turned up the intensity of emotions.

The powder that Shampoo wanted to use worked by triggering the brain's wired response to someone calling Ranma's name and intensifying it until it became an emotion like love. But when Kodachi mixed it up, it intensified everything around him instead, including feelings.

Every emotion he had ever felt, every train of thought had been ruthlessly dug up by the drug and intensified until Ranma himself had been so consumed by it that he couldn't stop.

That was why he had hit Kunou so badly.

That was why she had given herself in.

That was why he had been so angry, so dangerous.

That was why his responses had seemed so… _magnified_.

That was why he had left.

And that was… that was why they all fell apart.

—

The wind picked up slightly across the porch, and ripples formed across the surface of the koi pond.

"Ranma…"

The young man turned around and gave the oldest Tendou sister a small smile. "Hey, Kasumi," he said. "What's up?"

Kasumi smiled, warmth seeping into her smile, and Ranma found, with a slight pang, that he missed seeing the warm maternal look that Kasumi gave to everyone. The look that he had grown so accustomed to after living at the Tendou Doujou. The look that he hadn't seen in years. "They're leaving soon, Ranma," Kasumi said carefully.

"Are you going with them?" he asked.

Kasumi shook her head and smiled wanly. "I don't like law very much. But Nabiki-chan wants me to tell you that she would like it if you went with her and Akane."

"Me?" Ranma was a bit surprised. "What about Tofu?"

Kasumi turned her gaze out to the koi pond. "Tofu wishes to stay and accompany me," she answered quietly, with the faintest hint of thankfulness.

"Ah…" Ranma said thoughtfully. He turned to her and gave her a teasing grin. "Well, I wouldn't interrupt your time together then."

Kasumi laughed a little. "Ranma…" she admonished lightly.

There was silence once more, and then Kasumi spoke up again. "Ranma," she began. "Are you… better?"

Ranma did not seem perturbed by her questioning. Instead, he casually locked his fingers behind his head and gave a quick affirmative nod. "Not entirely, but the man I met in China taught me to block out the emotions so I wont get affected." He looked pensive for a moment. "Do I seem aloof now, Kasumi?"

She folded her hands. "Perhaps a little," she replied gently. "But I believe you will heal." Giving him a bright smile, she turned to leave. "I'll go and wash the dishes now, if you don't mind."

Ranma stared after her. _Perhaps I might heal._

"Oh yes, I seemed to have forgotten to say something. How rude of me," Kasumi remarked cheerfully as she glanced back. With a warm smile, she tilted her head slightly. "Welcome back, Ranma."

_Every single person in this household has missed you. You just don't know how much._

—


	9. Slowing Down

A/N: Here it goes, the last chapter of Mellow. I've had fun on this, and thank you guys so much for the wonderful feedback. (:

**Mellow  
****Chapter 8**

"I'm not going in." Ranma's voice was hard, but his gaze was harder.

Akane's eyes were wide and uncertain. "Nabiki…" she began slowly. "I'm not sure if…"

With a snort, Nabiki waved a perfectly manicured hand at them. "Stop being so immature, you two," she said bitingly. "Did you really think I have the time for simple-minded social visits? We're here on _business_."

"But…"

Nabiki sighed, and her gaze grudgingly grew softer. "Come on, Akane. We need a lawyer, and he's a damn good one. You know that," she said.

The youngest Tendou seemed unsure.

"Fine," Ranma said suddenly. "We'll go in." Akane looked doubtful, unsure… _afraid_ of something, but she raised her head proudly and followed Nabiki in when the butler led them into the sitting room.

Ranma turned a neutral gaze around the room. He had been here before… and it had been so very long ago. The furnishings had changed. They had become simpler, neater.

They took a seat on the couch. A maid served them drinks; pineapple juice with little umbrellas.

It seemed like someone's taste still ran in the house.

The door swung open suddenly, and a tall well-dressed man strode in. Nabiki rose, face calm and neutral as she offered a small grim smile to him. "Tendo Nabiki," the man boomed. "What brings you here?"

Nabiki ignored his question. "Good afternoon to you too, Kunou-baby."

But Kunou's face had turned a queer shade of white. He stared; eyes wide and mouth open at the couch. "Saotome Ranma? Tendou Akane?"

Akane could not resist. "Hello, Kunou-_sempai_," she drew out mockingly. It was terrible of her… but Kunou's shell-shocked expression was almost too much.

Ranma, on the other hand, didn't seem as amused as she was. He gave a tight grin. "Yo, Kunou."

—

Kunou would take on the reading of the will, on another day when all the sisters were present. It was settled, and they left. He had been uncharacteristically subdued throughout the visit, although he seemed to grow in confidence when Nabiki had brought up the details, his demeanor crisp and business-like.

"You kept in touch with him?" Akane asked, as they strolled away from the Kunou estate.

Nabiki laughed humorlessly. "I do need a good lawyer for my business, you know."

They walked in silence. Passing the ice-cream parlor, Ranma stopped suddenly. "Nabiki," he said. "Do you mind going back by yourself? I want to take Akane somewhere."

Akane looked surprised, but Nabiki merely gave them a lidded grin. "Go on," she said casually. "I wouldn't interrupt your lover's chat."

"Nabiki!" Akane said, and her sister laughed genuinely. So they waved the older woman goodbye and let her walk down the street slowly. "Don't take too long," Nabiki had said seriously before she left. "Kasumi wants to clear out Father's room today."

Akane had been a bit quiet after that, but Ranma laid his hand in the small of her back and steered her into the ice-cream parlor wordlessly. She was still in the booth moping silently when Ranma reappeared with two chocolate fudge sundaes.

"_Ice-cream is for girls!"_

She smiled slightly, and took her ice cream with a word of thanks. Gradually she found herself beginning to cheer up slightly. Ice cream was, after all, good for the soul. Chocolate fudge was even better.

They ate in silence, but it was a good silence. The calm soothing type of silence that made you feel content. It surprised her. Back when they had been teenagers, life was always so hectic. She never ever had a chance to sit quietly by Ranma and just take in the silence.

Akane smiled to herself wryly. So much for Nabiki's idea of a lover's chat.

They finished the sundaes and walked out. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then he took her hand.

Akane stared, but smiled. She could already hear the delighted whispers of the staff behind the counter. Some of them had been working at the parlor for years; she knew they recognized Ranma and her. Once out in the sunlight, she smiled brightly, her mood lightened.

They walked back home. The late morning sunlight was weak as it draped down on Nerima, but they had wrapped themselves well and despite the slight crisp chill, Akane was quite satisfied. When it came to the canal, she raised a hand and touched the fence, almost reverently.

"Feels weird, doesn't it, Ranma?" she said softly. "Nerima has changed so much."

He stopped beside her, pensive. Mimicking the young woman, he touched the fence, before a small smile broke reluctantly on his face. How could he explain it? This place had left him with the angriest painful memories of his life… but it had also left him with the happiest warmest reminiscences.

It was here that he was tricked and cursed with some permanent powder, and it was here that he had left, confused and enraged. But it was also here that he spent a few precious years, settling down, forming friendships, and taking root in the town. It was here that he fought to protect those he loved, that he fought with those he loved, that he experienced the highest and lowest points of his life so far. He had gone to school, he had fought challengers, he had made friends… and he had met Akane and her family.

All here in Nerima.

When he had left, the nightmares that had plagued him all occurred in the setting of Nerima. But at the same time, in his darkest loneliest moments out in China, little fragments of his life back here would filter through: a kind smile, a teasing comment, the thrill of a battle won, a tender touch.

Looking around, he almost expected Shampoo to barge out on that blasted bicycle of hers, demanding for a date. Then Ukyou would appear, huffing and wielding her spatula menacingly at the Amazon. And Mousse would come, yelling at the postbox to stop stealing Shampoo from him. And Ryouga would stumble in, lost and yelling in frustration. And then Kunou… then Kodachi… then Akane, angry and upset…

Ranma stopped, looking at the young woman next to him. She seemed to be just as lost in thought as he was, staring dazedly out towards the water that flowed on and on and on…

The point was, he had loved this place once. And now that he was finally back, he could not deny the fact that Nerima had indeed changed. It created a somewhat lost feeling in him.

He turned his gaze back to the fence, wondering. How many times had he walked on this very fence to Furinkan High School, with Akane on the ground next to him? How many times had they bickered on the way home, right along this very path?

On impulse, he leapt up easily onto the fence, balancing out of sheer habit. Akane stared up, startled.

"What are you doing?" she demanded. "Do you know what people will say if they see a full-grown man walking on a fence? Heck, are you even sure the fence can even support your weight?"

Ranma grinned lazily. "Have I ever cared about what other people think? And yes, the fence can support me." He extended a hand then, expression turning serious. "Come on up."

Akane blinked, before folding her arms. "You're crazy, Ranma."

He snorted. "Well, if you can't balance, just say so…"

"Hey!" she protested loudly. "I can so balance."

He watched her. "Then prove it," he egged.

There it was; the spark of steely determination and spirit, the hint of friendly teasing challenge. Akane huffed and stared critically at his hand, still extended.

She had missed that look.

"I'm wearing a skirt…" she began, this time a little more uncertainly.

Ranma chuckled. "Do you see anyone around?" he said.

She threw her hands up. "Fine," she sighed. Ignoring his hand, she leapt, and he smiled, pleasantly surprised when she landed perfectly. Ah, so she had improved.

A look of surprised delight came over Akane's features. "Hey, I'm really balancing!" she said excitedly, stretching her arms out to balance herself.

Of course, in the next moment, she was wobbling crazily, a wide-eyed horrified look on her face. Ranma felt amusement bubbling up from within him. Casually, he reached out to stabilize her, and instinctively she grabbed onto his forearms tightly, leaning her weight into him.

"You're as uncute as ever," he said then, still smirking.

She gaped at him, unsure, until she saw the friendly look in his eyes. She reddened, before stiffening in mock anger. "And you're a pervert! Don't you dare look under my skirt!"

"Why would I?" he returned the banter. "Can't fight, can't cook…"

She joined in, eyes bright and shining now. "And zero sex appeal!"

He laughed, but she continued on, now giggling slightly. "Built like a brick, thighs as thick as trunks…"

Ranma chuckled. "Insensitive jerk, pervert, good-for-nothing…" he recited.

Akane giggled madly, but eventually her laughter died. Releasing her iron grip on one of his arms, she reached up and tried to bat discreetly at her eyes.

He caught her wrist. "Hey, don't cry," he said quietly.

She shied away from the intensity of his gaze. "I don't know why I'm crying," she admitted. It was a lie; somewhere deep inside her, she knew exactly why she was crying. But she didn't want to bring it up, and she guessed, he knew it too, because with one deft but light push of his finger, he tilted her chin up and wiped her tears away.

"Stupid," he said softly.

She drew in a deep shuddering breath, ducking her head in embarrassment. Ranma was right… she really was being stupid. No amount of self-pitying crying was going to change all that happened. They had done some really stupid things in the past, and they had paid for it dearly. But what was lost could not return, and she could not hope to turn back time, could she?

She missed the times when everything had been all right, and they had laughed and insulted each other without a second thought. But that was gone, along with their adolescence. They weren't children anymore; they were responsible thinking adults who knew how to make their own decisions.

Why then, did she feel so much like a child?

"Don't cry," Ranma repeated, now with a hint of insistence. "You know I don't like seeing girls cry."

Ah, so he still felt uncomfortable at the sight of girls crying because of him. Well, he hid it well. She pushed at him lightly as he leapt down from the fence, taking her along and setting her down easily. "Jerk," she muttered half-heartedly.

Before she could react, he leant down and pressed a short hard kiss to her lips. "I'll race you back," he said as he pulled away, leaving her slightly dazed. Without waiting for a response, he turned and shot off.

Akane stared after him. "Jerk," she repeated, but this time there was a soft smile. Then: "Jerk! You had a head start!"

He paused and smirked at her.

Huffing, Akane wiped the remaining tears away hurriedly and took off after him, feeling somewhat lighter.

So what if they couldn't turn back time?

She pushed herself, running as fast as she could in a skirt.

They still had the future.

—

Nabiki was having a headache. A bad, bad headache.

Sighing, she flicked a lock of shiny auburn hair out of her eyes and straightened, flipping through the several slips of paper in front of her quickly while she jabbed on the calculator with murderous intent. Yes, yes, adding 25000 yen here, subtract the balance, take the remaining and find 1.42 of the total sum…

She stopped, and then glared hard at the figures. She had not made a mistake, so she supposed that was supposed to be a good thing. But it still didn't leave her any clue to why her dear old Daddy had left behind huge debts to be cleared.

I mean, look at the bloody receipts! Why the hell would he need land in a prime spot of Tokyo? Especially when he didn't have the damned money to pay for it anyway!

She could have growled. Still glaring balefully at the creased letter from the debt collector, Nabiki attempted to appease her inner demonic rages (hey, the genes run in the family, after all) and settled for jabbing that pathetic slip of paper viciously with her middle finger. Hah, take that! No one, _no one_ ever made Tendou Nabiki upset.

What was she talking about? She wasn't merely _upset_. She was pissed.

"Damn it, Daddy, why did you have to be so _stupid_?" Nabiki muttered. "Didn't we tell you to leave the financial crap to the people with the sense of logic? Where the hell are we going to find the money to pay off your debts?" And the _interest_, she wanted to add. What in the world had possessed her father to make a purchase with_ that sort _of interest rate? That was essentially financial suicide. Did her father have some sort of secret desire to bankrupt his daughters after his death?

Nabiki wanted to kill something.

There was a knock on the door, before Kasumi pushed it open slightly. "Nabiki?" her older sister said gently. "Would you like some tea?"

She swiveled around in her chair, a falsely bright smile on her face. Hey, what was the point of getting Kasumi to worry, right? After the older woman's little breakdown, Nabiki didn't really look forward to a repeat. "You got coffee?" she responded wryly. "I'd rather have a large mug of hot black coffee. I think I might need some right now."

Her sister studied her intently, and then stepped into the room, shutting the door behind her. "Company problems?" she asked, setting the tea down on a nearby chair.

Nabiki nodded, sweeping the incriminating documents under some files. "Yeah," she fibbed easily.

Kasumi looked at her carefully, and then pressed her lips together tightly. "Is that so, Nabiki?" she said, after a long moment's silence.

Nabiki stared into the calm, beautiful, kind face of her older sister confidently. She opened her mouth, and then gave a miserable groan. No human being could possibly bring himself or herself to lie to Kasumi. It was a useful trait, Nabiki thought distractedly.

"Dad left behind some pretty bad debts, Kasumi," she admitted finally. "He must have lost her mind when he bought the land, considering he doesn't really have the money to pay for it. I already checked his bank account, most of it is wiped dry by the payments already."

"Oh," said Kasumi intelligently. Then: "Oh!"

"Yes, Kasumi," Nabiki sighed. Maybe she had to search the house for Vallum, Kasumi could be a bit weird sometimes. "Unless you happen to have a stash of cash somewhere, I wonder how we can pay this. Not even I have the money to deal with this. We're talking big money here, sis."

Kasumi was silent, then Nabiki felt the older woman's warm hands rest on her shoulder lovingly. "Don't worry," Kasumi said with a mysterious smile. "Don't worry a single thing about it."

"…_Don't worry!_"

Nabiki swore, there _had_ to be Vallum somewhere in this house.

"Don't worry," Kasumi repeated, smiling rather happily. "We'll find a way to deal with that once the will is read."

Lord. Nabiki threw her hands up and stood up. She needed more than a mug of coffee, she needed some quiet time alone. Maybe then she might understand why her family members could be such… brainless morons.

Ouch, harsh. Thinking quickly, she withdrew her thoughts. Calling Kasumi a brainless moron was equivalent to crushing a mouse's head with her bare hands. Utterly heartless.

"Nabiki," came Kasumi's voice, slightly reproaching now. "Will you trust me on this?"

She sighed, how could she not? "Yeah, Kasumi," she answered, leaning slightly against the doorframe. "I guess I do."

There was no reply from the older woman, but Nabiki imagined that Kasumi smiled. Moments later, she felt a gentle hand on her upper back, guiding her out the door.

"So," said Nabiki. "Got any more tea?"

Kasumi smiled.

—

"Where's Akane?"

"In Father's room. She told me that she's leaving in two days' time."

"So soon?"

"Yes. Something about a grumpy director and work commitments. She won't be spending Christmas with us this year, I'm afraid," Kasumi sighed. "Well I supposed getting away from here is the right thing. She needs to get back to life."

A pause. Nabiki looked down into her cup. Then, quietly: "Is she clearing out Dad's stuff now?"

"Yes." A soft sigh. "I would help, but… I'm afraid Akane chased me out. She said I might need a rest."

'I would be inclined to agree.' Nabiki snorted inwardly. "Maybe you do. Where's Tofu?"

"In his room."

A moment of thoughtful silence. Then: "Why don't you join him, hmm?"

"Well… I don't know, Nabiki-chan… I…"

She interrupted smoothly. "I'll even wash up for you."

There was a slight laugh from the older woman. "Very well."

She watched as Kasumi left the kitchen, then picked up the cups and headed to the sink.

—

They emerged from the room a few hours later, just as Nabiki padded up the hallway. The older woman glanced into the room behind them with an unreadable expression.

"Whoa," she said finally. "You cleared everything?"

Akane nodded. "Those two boxes…" she pointed. "Go to the Salvation Army. That one…" she pointed once more. "Is full of rubbish. And that one…" she gestured towards the smallest box, looking a bit more subdued. "We keep."

She turned around slightly to take in the room. The walls were bare. Nabiki was right, they had cleared everything.

Perhaps that would explain why her chest felt so constricting.

She watched her older sister walk to the box of belongings that they were to keep and drop to her knees. With careful precision, she flipped open the covers and began to lift articles out.

Soun's favorite gi.

A worn shogi set.

A comb, with several strands of gray hair still entangled within the teeth.

A training gi.

Nabiki's fingers shook suddenly, but she quelled them.

A framed photo, faded and old, of their mother.

A photo album. Her brow quirked with interest as she flipped the album open deftly. Her fingers traveled softly over the yellow faded pictures. Akane in a tiny training gi, aged 4. Kasumi, aged 7, licking batter from a spoon in the kitchen with their mother. Nabiki, aged 8, dozing in the patio. Soun and Kimiko, smiling. A trip to Kyoto. Visits to the beach. Baby pictures. Wedding photos.

And on the last page, a family portrait: a dark-haired woman smiling broadly as she carried a sleeping toddler, while another child dozed on her lap. Her husband sat nearby, chuckling, while the oldest little girl napped, propped up against his chest.

Nabiki closed the photo album abruptly. Returning the articles to their box, she rose to her feet, her face calm and collected.

"Here's something about life, little sister," she said simply. "It goes on. So stop crying."

She turned and walked down the hallway with precise smooth steps.

Akane watched her sister go, before brushing away the few tears that had leaked out upon seeing Nabiki flip through the album. Her sister might not have known it, but in those few moments of gazing at the photos, Nabiki had never looked more lost.

"Oi."

She turned a piercing stare onto Ranma. "Don't you start," she rebuked. "I'm in mourning here."

He held up his hands slightly, gaze softening. "I know," he said finally. "I know, Akane."

She stepped forward hesitantly, before wrapping her arms around him tightly. He held her, and for that she was thankful as she clung onto him.

She did not cry.

Nabiki was right, life did go on.

She did not cry.

—

They had the will read two days later.

Soun's estate and assets were divided equally among his three daughters. Kasumi would get the house, of course. Akane got most of the investments and some of the remaining properties.

Nabiki got a plot of land in a prime spot in Tokyo. The very same one that was still undergoing payments.

"See?" Kasumi said to her after the reading of the will. "There was no need to worry."

She stared at her sister. Now Nabiki was the one saddled with the debts, and Kasumi told her that there was no need to worry? She didn't understand, couldn't understand, in fact. And Nabiki hated not understanding and being in control.

She stood in the doorway of Kunou's office, watching as her sisters left the room. Tofu and Ranma were waiting outside. This was wrong, she thought. Wrong, wrong, _wrong_.

"Nabiki?"

She looked over to Kasumi, who had stuck her head back into Kunou's office. "Yeah?" she answered sullenly.

Kasumi smiled obliviously. "Won't it be nice if you could work in Tokyo?" she remarked brightly. "We could meet up and have dinner often."

Nabiki's eyes narrowed. Work in Tokyo…?

Kasumi continued smiling. "Oh, look at the time," she said suddenly, looking mildly surprised. "We'd better hurry, Nabiki. Akane's leaving tonight, don't you know? Tofu made reservations at a restaurant for dinner."

"Hn," was her only reply. Work in Tokyo… work in _Tokyo_…

Nabiki's eyes widened. "Kasumi, you genius," she muttered, before breaking out in a huge smile. Yes, yes, judging by the market value of her current business headquarters… If she sold her headquarters then used the money to pay off the debts then…

"Kunou-baby!" she said happily, swiveling around to view her company's lawyer. He glanced at her quizzically, still in the middle of packing his briefcase. Chuckling, Nabiki rubbed her palms together and grinned widely. "This is a cause for celebration," she told him. "Break out the wine, Kunou-baby. We're relocating to Tokyo, where business is definitely going to be more lucrative in Daddy's plot of land."

—

"Won't you stay a little more, Akane?" Kasumi asked, patting the younger woman on the arm gently. "We could still spend Christmas together."

Akane drew her older sister into a quick hug before pulling away. "Sorry, Kasumi," she said guiltily. "I did intend to spend Christmas here… but… anyway I have to go back. The director will go ballistic if I don't."

Indeed. The email had come to her three nights ago, crisp and demanding. There had been an emergency; they can't possibly hold the filming back any longer; get back here on the first possible flight or we'll all be doomed and you can forget about working with me for the rest of your life. This could be _the_ ticket to fame, and you'd be a fool not to take it… yadda yadda blah blah.

Akane sighed. After all that had happened… she didn't really feel like returning to her hectic schedule of filming. She wanted to stay awhile in the sleepy cozy town of Nerima and spend some time with Kasumi and Nabiki and Tofu and… and Ranma.

She had told him that she was leaving the day she managed to secure an airplane ticket. But he hadn't said much, merely tightening his jaw. She didn't know if that were a good sign or a bad one.

Anyway, she didn't know if it were right to leave Kasumi and Nabiki alone. Well, more of Kasumi, actually. She seemed much better since the few days after Soun's death, but still…

"There goes the first call," Nabiki commented, stepping forward. Akane heaved the bags over her shoulder.

"I guess I ought to go now," she said awkwardly.

It took her a split second to make a decision, but before Nabiki could blink, Akane had dropped her bags and flung her arms around her in a tight hug. Nabiki made a choked noise of sorts.

"Air!" she gasped, flapping her arms comically. "Damn it, Akane, _air_!"

Akane let go and giggled. "You won't die that easily," she told her. Pausing to give Kasumi and Tofu quick hugs, she picked up her bags once more. "I'll call when I reach the airport," she promised with a wobbly smile, taking a step in the direction of the check-in counters. "Have fun this Christmas."

She turned and began walking. She didn't know why her hands were shaking so badly, or why she began to tear up suddenly.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Akane?" Nabiki's voice called out suddenly. She sounded amused, and Akane turned around.

Only to see Ranma stalking towards her with a determined intense look on his face.

Oh no. Oh no. Akane began to back away, holding her hands out in front of her. "Ranma, you can't…" she began.

Too late. In one instant, he was in front of her, his arms tightening around her form. His lips pressed onto her in a fierce insistent kiss and she felt herself drinking him in despite herself, her fingers curling against the warmth of his chest. Her bags had fallen to the ground, long forgotten, but she couldn't care less.

"Ranma…" Her voice was supposed to be firm when she finally pulled herself away reluctantly, but even to her own ears she sounded weak-kneed. "I can't, Ranma, and you know it."

She dropped her head then, aware of the intense blue gaze upon her.

Then: "I know."

She lifted her head, mildly startled, and was in time to see his eyes softening as he smirked down lightly at her. "Ranma?" she began to ask, but he beat her to it.

"Get going," he pointed, picking up her bags for her. She accepted them wordlessly. At the light nudge in the small of her back, Akane started forward uncertainly.

"This isn't over, Akane," he promised her suddenly, and before she knew it, he tipped her chin upwards and pressed a quick hard kiss to her lips. Before she could even respond, he pulled away and smiled at her, walking back to join the rest of Akane's family in the distance.

"Nice job, Saotome," Nabiki remarked when he came within earshot. Ranma smiled wordlessly, but his gaze was fixated on her little sister who, at the moment, seemed a little out of it. She watched as Akane touched her lips unthinkingly, before a smile spread over her face. Surreptitiously, Nabiki took a quick at Ranma. Yep, Akane's smile was working wonders on him already. Ah, how cute.

Watching as Akane gave a short wave before jogging off to the counters, Nabiki touched her chin thoughtfully. "Three thousand yen," she said easily.

Ranma glanced at her warily. "What?" he answered.

"Four thousand yen for Akane's apartment number, cellphone, address, email," Nabiki listed. "Oh, and for an additional two thousand yen, you can have her director and agent's number, so you'll always know where she is."

Ranma stared.

Nabiki watched him predatorily for a moment, before she dropped her expression and chuckled. "Ranma, Ranma, you are too funny for words," she commented with mirth. "I was kidding." Pulling a Post-It from her tote, she slipped it into his hand smoothly. "Here, have everything free-of-charge," she told him. "It's your Christmas present. It's high time Akane got married anyway."

Ranma slipped the Post-It into his pocket and grinned.

"Shall we leave?" Kasumi's voice broke into their conversation, and they turned to her. The older woman smiled and beckoned. "It looks like snow tonight, don't you think?" she continued. "Hot cocoa before bed will be nice." As she took Tofu's arm, she turned slightly to Ranma. "Will you be staying for the night?" she asked.

Ranma smiled. "Yeah, I guess. I had planned to leave as soon as possible, but I think I might be spending some time in Nerima after all."

—

Yep, Mellow's ending. Epilogue will be posted next week to wrap things up, then it's byebye to this story.

Ah, I feel nostalgic.


	10. Epilogue

**Mellow  
****Epilogue**

"No, no, and no."

Akane groaned and rolled her eyes. Putting on a strained smile, she waved her hands charmingly at the short man pacing furiously before her. "Don't be silly, Matsumoto-san," she said finally, slipping her hands into her pockets. "Nothing's going to happen."

"Nothing's going to happen?" the man froze and stared at her in such utter horror that Akane grimaced slightly. Geez, did he have to be so dramatic? Her agent, in response, let out a long-suffering sigh.

"Ah, Akane-chan, you are so naïve!" he lamented. "A woman of your status and stardom faces much danger! How could you even think of traveling alone? Think of the consequences, Akane! What will you do if the press mobs you in the middle of the supermarket? Or if a rabid fan comes after you with a gun? Or if you get kidnapped? Raped? _Killed_?" He finished up with a choked sigh. "I'm just thinking of you, baby."

Akane stared at him for a moment. "Don't be ridiculous," she said slowly. "I'm not even that famous yet."

But it was true that her star was starting to shine. She dropped into the nice plushy rotating chair in front of Matsumoto's desk and sighed, thinking back to the previous year. She had spent her last two Christmases filming feverishly in the cold for some drama serial, and she remembered flouncing down grumpily at the end of the day, thinking about how the rest of the family was probably enjoying hot cocoa and warm cookies while she was stuck filming.

And the worst part was that Ranma hadn't even visited or called. When she made phone calls to Nerima, Kasumi never did mention anything about him, so Akane assumed that he had taken off. The jerk. Her fingers curled into a fist angrily. After all they went through… after his promise that this was not the end of it… the jerk had lied to her. In fact, she never did hear from him ever since. She had tried asking Nabiki for his contact details, but her sister had always waved her questions off cleverly.

By the next Christmas, she had given up. 'I lived without him for years,' she had thought angrily. 'I can live without him for years to come. It's his loss anyway.' And that had been that. She threw herself into her work, and it all began to pay off when the drama serial took off with more success that she could ever imagine. At the moment, Akane couldn't even visit the grocery store without having the grocer's wife squeal in delight at seeing 'Haruko' come to patronize her store.

There were offers coming in from all kinds of places, and at the moment she had two movies and a brand new drama serial lined up waiting for her, not including the dozen or so advertisement and modeling offers she had received recently. Akane thumbed the silky material of her blouse thoughtfully. Even her clothes were sponsored.

But her happiness at her newfound fame hadn't taken away the strange aching deep within her. She missed Ranma; damn it, regardless of whether she liked it or not.

But this wasn't about Ranma. She steered herself back on course. She had missed the previous two Christmases with her family, and she wasn't going to miss the third one. Besides… her lips curved into a happy grin. Kasumi had given birth to her first child last month, a little girl whom they had promptly named Kimiko, after their mother. She wanted to see her niece; photos simply couldn't replace the real thing.

In any case, it was high time she visited her father's grave.

Her smile slipped. Turning her attention back to the babbling Matsumoto, Akane snapped her fingers. "Look, can I please go?" she resorted to begging. "I'll be back in two weeks."

Matsumoto peered at her. "Bodyguard," he insisted finally.

Akane threw her hands up. "I can't believe this!" she ranted. "I'm the heir to the Tendou School of Anything Goes, thank you very much. I could kick your butt if I wanted to," she added pointedly, glaring at her agent.

Matsumoto snorted. "Martial arts, hah! How fast can you get when faced with a bullet, hmm, Akane-chan?" Obviously he belonged to the new generation of people who didn't really have much confidence in the Art. She wanted to laugh; if only he knew what a true martial artist was capable of. Akane had no doubt that she could wipe the floor with him in ten seconds flat.

"Fine," he said suddenly, pulling at his short beard. "_I'm _not going to be the one crying when I pick up your dead body full of bullet holes from Nerima in one week's time. Don't blame me what the worst really happens. And when Japan mourns the loss of a shining star, I'm going to be the one telling them, 'Oh, Akane didn't see the error of her ways before it was too late' and then we'll see…"

"Matsumoto-san!" she interrupted, exasperated. "Fine, I'll take the bodyguard," she allowed grudgingly, holding back the small smile. Matsumoto might be overly dramatic and silly, but she was fond of her short hyperactive agent. "Sometimes you can be so ridiculous. You'd better not cut into my vacation this time."

"Excellent!" Matsumoto exclaimed.

—

"Matsumoto-san…" Akane started, pressing her lips together.

"Don't say a word, Akane!" he admonished, anxiously scanning the crowd. "They'll be here any minute."

She sighed, tucking hair behind her ears. "It's kind of irresponsible of them, isn't it? I mean, to be late for a meeting with a client?" she sighed loudly; secretly enjoying the way Matsumoto was fidgeting. "They might get sloppy in their work," she hinged.

"Nonsense!" he barked. "The protection agency I approached is one of the best there is. Don't be silly, Akane-chan."

She snorted, before picking up her bags. "I'm not waiting any longer," she declared finally. "I want to get to Nerima before dark, Matsumoto-san. Tell Mr. Bodyguard that he can spend Christmas with _his_ family instead." Chuckling at her agent's wide-eyed expression, Akane gave a quick wave and turned, ready to leave.

"That won't be necessary," someone said calmly. "Mr. Bodyguard wishes to express his sincere apologies for being late, but he had some other commitments to attend to this morning. He's ready and willing to join you on your trip home however."

Akane froze. She could hear Matsumoto's triumphant exclamation, but her mind was whirling.

It couldn't be… could it?

She turned around slowly with a stunned expression, her eyes widening even more when she was met with the sight of a tall good-looking pigtailed man smirking down at her. In spite of herself, she dropped her bags, feeling her hands start to shake uncontrollably. "Ranma," she managed softly.

He grinned. "Saotome Ranma, protection agent," he introduced, and there was no mistaking the cheeky lilt in his voice. "I'll be responsible for your safety in the dangerous little town of Nerima this Christmas, Miss Tendou." Before she could say anything, he had taken her hand and grasped it firmly, grinning at the look of shocked bewilderment on her face.

Akane still wasn't moving.

Smirking, it was then that Ranma leaned close to her. "I missed you," he said softly.

She reacted. With an angry growl, Akane reached up and delivered the hardest slap she could muster.

Ranma moved back instinctively and caught her hand before she could strike. "I'm sorry," he said. Instead of calming her like he had expected, she grunted in frustration before pitching herself forward violently towards him. He felt her arms fling around him before he knew it, and a moment later he was pulling her close, pressing his face into her hair.

"You're a bastard." Her voice was supposed to be angry, but it sounded small.

"I've got good reason for everything," he insisted, but he didn't complain.

Why, she wanted to ask, but found that words weren't important. Akane was vaguely aware of Matsumoto staring, but at the moment, she didn't really care. An instant later, Ranma gently separated them and nudged her towards the check-in.

"Let's go," he told her. "I want to get to Nerima before dark too."

Akane stared, before breaking out in a soft laugh.

As they walked, he began to tell her about what he had really been up to for the past two years. Akane wasn't really paying attention, just enough to catch little snippets about how he had made use of contacts to befriend Matsumoto and persuade him to make use of the protection agency Ranma worked in.

Instead, she turned her focus to the sound of his voice: warm, calm and mellow. His words flowed over her like a river, and Akane smiled, finally plucking up enough courage to slip her hand into his once more. Ranma didn't blush or stutter like he did so long ago, but he did pause and give her a soft tender grin before continuing on, his grip warm and comforting on her hand.

Akane laughed.

_Here's to the future._

_

* * *

_

Yep, and Mellow has officially come to an end. Thank you all so much for everything :D


End file.
